


AH Superhero AU 1

by QueenCoeurl



Series: AH Superhero AU [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Cannibalism, Faked Suicide, Gen, Language, Mind Control
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-25
Updated: 2015-04-25
Packaged: 2018-05-26 14:05:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6242335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenCoeurl/pseuds/QueenCoeurl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the artistic musings of gaelfox (on tumblr) this AU is my interpretation of her head canons.</p>
<p>After a spree of organised crime in Achievement City, the Achievement Hunters realize that the crimes are all being masterminded by one man: a lawyer named Ryan Haywood.</p>
            </blockquote>





	AH Superhero AU 1

  _Ray lay on the ground and struggled to get himself up. He was in an arena bordered by flame and a shadow fell over him._

_Jack stood over him, his heavy hammer in one hand and his shield on the ground. His expression was grim._

_“Jack…” Ray’s voice was hoarse as he reached out towards him. He could hear laughter he didn’t recognise._

_Jack lifted his hammer over his head and the laughter grew to a maniacal pitch._

_Ray saw the heavy metal steel come plummeting towards him as the laughter rang in his head._

 He awoke and his hands flew to his chest as the dream pain of his ribs being crushed ebbed away. Ray looked up from the bed in his darkened apartment. Every so often the headlights of a passing car briefly snuck past his blinds and lit up his ceiling.

 He blinked and rolled over to look at his phone charging on the nightstand. Blindly he felt around for his glasses before putting them on.

 4:27 AM

 Dreams this vivid weren’t to be ignored; especially when you had a long track record of them coming true… for the most part. Details varied, but the general outcome always matched.

 He would have to tell Geoff. It was ridiculous to think Jack would ever harm any of them. Ray wouldn’t believe it, but he knew what he had seen. It wasn’t the kind of thing he could sit on either; Geoff would kill him if he ever learned that Ray had hesitated in telling him.

 With a loud groan he sat up and rubbed his face. He took a look around and saw Tina asleep on the couch in the living room. She was two rooms over, and normally was highly annoyed when he used his vision to locate her like that.

 He got himself dressed, sneaked past the quietly snoring Tina, and called a cab.

~*~

 Geoff’s eyes were closed and he was nodding over a half-drunk cup of coffee, “Look, I’m not going to argue _what_ you saw, but we know that sometimes what you see isn’t literal.”

 “Geoff, this wasn’t some dream about blooms falling from a tree while a rooster crows. This was Jack killing me. Clear cut; no mystic mumbo jumbo. And someone was laughing too; they were enjoying it, like they were behind it somehow.” Ray insisted.

 “But it’s Jack, Ray.” Geoff made a small gesture with his left hand. A bottle of whiskey pushed itself free of his alcohol cabinet and clattered down onto the table.

 Ray looked to the cabinet. It had a bunch of signs tacked onto it written in Geoff’s own hand:

 “Gavin Fuck Off”

 “Don’t even think about it”

 “You too, Michael”

 “Motherfucker I will end you”

 All were perfectly reasonable considering this was a shared space. Achievement City’s Achievement Hunters called this place home; a central location in which they could always feel safe. It was a large underground compound built out of an old cold war bunker some paranoid millionaire had funded many years back. Gavin had jokingly called the place “The Tower of Pimps” after seeing a 3D render of the place due to its shape and the previous owner’s lavish tastes. The name had stuck.

 Ray looked back to Geoff sitting across the table and dropped his head into his hands, “ _I know._ Out of everyone… I know he would never hurt any of us, but that’s what I saw, and I can only tell you what I saw.”

 Geoff opened the whiskey and poured it into his coffee until the cup was full again, “We can’t tell Jack. He’s already so careful about his strength around people. This would just make him a paranoid mess. It would fuck with his head.”

 “But what if not telling him is the reason why he ends up-” Ray was cut off by a dismissive wave from Geoff.

 “I’ll deal with Jack. I think the problem here is we aren’t focusing one what’s important here. If we can find out who the person was that was laughing at Jack hurting you, we could head in the right direction.”

 Ray frowned, “Ok Geoff, let me just go around asking people to laugh maniacally to see if their laugh matches up. I’ll just ask everyone who passes by me. ‘Hello sir, would you mind pretending to laugh as if you’re fucking insane? It’s for science.’”

 “Shut the fuck up, Ray. You have a better idea then?” Geoff took a large gulp of his coffee.

 Ray shook his head, “No…”

 “Then let’s focus on the present. We’re still having trouble with those smugglers/dealers/whatever they wanna call themselves. It’s like they’ve called in reinforcements after our last few busts. Usually the fuckers scatter by the second or third run in with us, but this has been going on for over a month now.” Geoff suggested.

 Ray nodded, “Yeah Kdin says that the only way it makes sense is if someone from out of town is trying to claim Achievement City as their territory for whatever trafficking needs they have. I don’t see why they keep bothering; they have to realize it ain’t worth it by now. I mean how many guys can they possibly have? They have to be running low by this point.”

 “If they were smart, they wouldn’t be criminals, and they sure as hell wouldn’t be pitting themselves against us.” Geoff finished his coffee, “Either way, I’ve got you and Gavin teaming up to take out another operation of theirs.”

 “Oh?” Ray perked up at the idea of having something to distract him.

 “Yeaahhh, the idiots took down a coast guard boat or something. I don’t know. Matt has the details. Something about wanting to scam customs, which really can only mean that whatever it is, it’s illegal.”

 “Customs? We’re doing customs now? Since when do we take care of illegal immigrants? I heard that there’s this federal group that does border patrol so we don’t fucking have to.” Ray crossed his arms and leaned back. It was enough that the city’s police force relied on them so heavily; he wasn’t about to allow the feds to take advantage of them too.

 Geoff chuckled, “We got this job because I asked for it. Everything points to these being the same guys that we’ve been dealing with recently. I figure if we just continue to shut them down at every opportunity they will eventually just cut their losses and piss off back to wherever the fuck they’re from.”

 Ray rolled his eyes and scoffed, “Yeah because packing the local jails to the brim isn’t clear enough for them. How many dudes could they possibly even have?”

 Geoff chuckled, “Grab a bed and get some more sleep. When Gavin finally gets his ass down here you’ll get briefed and head out.”

 Ray yawned, “Fine.” He pulled out his phone and texted Tina that he was out, “But if Gavin burns off any more of my facial hair, I’m going to return the favour.”

~*~

 “X-Raaaaay and Vaavvvvv!” Gavin sung under his breath as he pushed himself up against the shipping container.

 “Please just fucking shut up!” Ray hissed and used his vision to scope out the area, “Couple guards, three containers down. They have another two patrolling the deck of that cargo ship.”

 Gavin grinned and rubbed his hands together, “So we’ll need a distraction then, eh?”

 Ray shook his head, “By this point if we can’t engineer something plausible they’ll raise an alarm immediately. I think they’ve pretty much dealt with all of us by now: sudden fire or explosion and it’s gonna be all hands on deck.”

 Gavin peeked around from the container towards the dock. It was a large shipyard, so activity during the night wasn’t unusual. What were unusual were the guards carrying large semi-automatic rifles.

 “Oi, I actually recognise that guy.” Gavin turned back to Ray, “He was at the bank and the warehouse.”

 Ray squinted, “Holy fuck, you’re right. That confirms it’s the same group at least.”

 Gavin furrowed his brow in thought, “I can take out the three on the ground at once if you can simultaneously take out the two on the deck. Then we have a clear way in and can deal with the rest as they come. Once we find what they’re bringing in and grab the guy in charge, we might be close to stopping these buggers from popping up like mushrooms all over the bloody city.”

 “It’s weapons Vav. Weapons, and what looks like stolen computer goods: I can see that clearly from here.” Ray adjusted his glasses, “Only have about twelve guys wandering about below deck, too. Maybe they finally are getting short-handed.”

 “Ships are mostly metal right? You think I could stun them all at once?” Gavin thought out loud.

 “Dude, do I look like a physicist to you? You’re the zappy one, shouldn’t you know?” Ray argued.

 “A’ight, let me know when it’s clear. Imma get closer and try to get ‘em all in one shot.” Gavin readied himself to run.

 Ray watched the guards until they looked in the other direction, “Now. Go!”

 Gavin silently sprinted forward until he was behind a forklift right next to where the ship was docked. He sized up the metal hull. He leaned out over the concrete edge of the dock and tried to reach the hull. Regardless of how far he stretched the hull was still a good foot away from the tips of his fingers.

 “Bollocks!” He spat under his breath, and looked towards the nearest guard to see if they had heard.  They hadn’t.

 He took a deep breath; this wasn’t going to be subtle at all.

 A loud thunderclap sounded and the area was flooded with blinding light. Ray exclaimed and covered his ears and eyes.

 Gavin shook himself and tried to alleviate the ringing in his ears. The three guards on the dock had been thrown forward and were getting back on their feet in an effort to run away. It was clear that they were shouting commands but no one could hear it.

 Gavin looked to the ship and saw the red hot metal where his bolt had struck. There was some steam where the electricity had travelled directly downwards into the water following the path of least resistance. It hadn’t spread to the rest of the ship at all.

 His vision was all wonky and could only imagine how Ray felt. He was vaguely aware of yelling and there was a large white after image in the middle of his vision. At least everyone was disoriented equally.

 Gavin ran back to where Ray was still hidden.

 They shouted obscenities at each other but couldn’t understand what the other was saying. Through gestures they were able to agree on a retreat.

~*~

 Geoff paced back and forth in front of the duo. Michael leaned against the wall in tears from laughing.

 “You fucking morons!” Geoff screamed for the hundredth time.

 Ray lifted the bag of ice off of his face and gave Gavin the finger with an angry stare.

 “How was I supposed to know it wouldn’t work?” Gavin still spoke a little too loudly due to the ringing that still followed him everywhere.

 “Fuck. Fuck. FUCK! You literally just scared them, so now they know that we know about that import and they will abandon it or change tactics. AND now we don’t even have anyone arrested who could give us any more info as to who these guys are working for!” Geoff threw himself down onto the couch opposite them.

 Jack walked into the room with a tablet and tossed it to Geoff, “It’s already making news. Some peg it as an industrial accident others are correctly pointing their fingers at us.” He grabbed a cookie from the coffee table between them.

 “Fuuuuuck.” Geoff moaned, “I’m going to have to bring Caleb in again; get some sort of PR deal with this whole thing. I mean the dock owner can come after us for damages…” he grabbed at his hair, “Fuck. I need a drink.” He left towards the kitchen where his booze cabinet resided.

 “Boi, you fucked up. What were you expecting to happen?” Michael chuckled and jumped down onto the couch next to Gavin.

 Ray responded before Gavin could, “You might have to speak up. Our ears are still experiencing Christmas in hell.”

 Michael laughed in response.

 Gavin threw a pillow at Ray, “Look, the ship was metal and was sat in water; it should have bloody worked!”

~*~

 “Well that was a spectacular failure on their part.” Kerry looked up from his phone to Ryan who sat in his new legal office.

 “No one arrested?” Ryan asked from behind his desk; he liked his old office better. Finding office space in Achievement City on short notice had left him with a less than perfect space.

 “Nope.” Kerry popped the p, “So you’ll have a bit of a break in your schedule. Less time in court.”

 Ryan wrinkled his nose, “How boring.”

 “I do have one of the men that was there, here.” Kerry informed him.

 Ryan gestured for him to bring him in.

 Kerry walked the man in.

 Ryan sat up in his chair, “So what happened?”

 “I’m sorry, but I still can’t hear shit, sir!” The man shouted.

 Ryan gave an irritated look to Kerry who just shrugged. He then looked back at the man and locked his gaze.

 The man immediately began to recount the details of the event as best he could. He had been standing on the dock when the bang threw him to the ground. The rest was a mess.

 Ryan waved him out, and with a quick nod the man left.

 Ryan looked deep in thought so Kerry was hesitant to interrupt, “Y-You still have the interview tomorrow morning with the paper. So there’s that.”

 “Yes.” Ryan leaned forward and rested his chin on interwoven fingers, “I’m sure it will be enlightening.”

~*~

 Meg had assured to arrive at the coffee shop nice and early. She picked out a choice spot, ordered herself a latte and pulled out her laptop. She threw her red hair back over her shoulder and adjusted her glasses as she looked over her notes one last time.

 The coffee shop was a bustling place and a favourite haunt of hers.

 Fifteen minutes before their scheduled time the lawyer she was to interview walked through the door.

 She stood and greeted him, “Meg Turney, reporter for The Know. Ryan Haywood?”

 Ryan nodded and smiled, “Thank you for the opportunity to get away from my paperwork.”

 Meg chuckled, “I know how busy you must be, thank you so much for agreeing to see me.”

 They sat themselves down at her table and she pulled up a rough outline of the questions she wanted to ask him.

 “So we should only be about an hour or so. I have some basic questions to run through. If at the end there’s something you don’t want published or you have any questions for me, just say so.”

 Ryan nodded.

 Meg began, “So Mr. Haywood, you’ve been practicing law since graduation but didn’t open an office in Achievement City until earlier this year. What brought you and your business here?”

 “Well it’s not often you hear about a defense lawyer ‘going where the work is’ but that’s exactly how it went. Aside from this city’s… unique legal environment, it really works like any other when it comes to defending the accused. With the chaos that can arise, often innocent people get swept up in the mess and need someone on their side.” Ryan explained.

 “So you coming here was in no way influenced by the Achievement Hunters?”

 Ryan laughed, “The opposite actually. With the mass arrests they seem to justify, the so called ‘villains’ or ‘bad guys’ want their side of the story heard and defended. I wasn’t attracted to the area until the recent increase in criminal activity.”

 Meg nodded, “The recent increase isn’t a secret to anyone, but it was indeed a surprise. Do you think this is a statistical outlier or the beginning of a potentially worrying trend?”

 Ryan seemed to think it over, “It might be a bit too early to say. I only have a small piece of the picture from my work, and what I can say is that these crimes aren’t the typical random sprees. There is some form of organization here.”

 “Is there any familiarity to past crimes?”

 “Looking into some old cases, it’s clear that there have been large criminal operations in the city before, but none over such a long time period. At least not to my knowledge. It’s difficult to understand what an organization would have to gain from such an enterprise.”

 “Would that not have authorities leaning towards the unorganised crime explanation?”

 Ryan shook his head, “It’s a debated topic, I know, but this feels as if there is some end goal, not just a random crime spree. With a random spree one must also ask why it would suddenly be so appealing to commit crime. I cannot think of a logical reason along that line of thinking.”

 Meg nodded and typed some notes, “In your most recent case, closed last Thursday, you argued that your client was a victim of circumstance and therefore should be declared innocent. How many of these crimes are being committed by so called ‘victims of circumstance’?”

 Ryan narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but answered, “My client was declared innocent of any crime by a jury of her peers.”

 Meg couldn’t help but smirk; of course a defense lawyer was too smart to comment on a question like that. She moved on, “What’s your opinion of the efficacy of the police and law when an unregulated party such as the Achievement Hunters is involved?”

 “It is not my place to comment.”

 “Does such a situation not create a legal quagmire that is nothing but advantageous to defense lawyers such as yourself?”

 Ryan leaned back and smiled, she was bright, “May I ask what you said the topic of this interview is again?”

 Meg looked Ryan in the eye, “It’s a featured editorial piece. If you refuse to answer any more questions, we can stop. Especially if the questions are making you uncomfortable. Are they?”

 He leaned in, “Only if I can ask a few uncomfortable questions of my own.”

 Meg appeared smug to hide her irritation, “I have a boyfriend. I’m not interested.”

 Ryan gave a sharp laugh and waved her away. He calmed and grabbed her gaze once again, “My questions are about Gavin and his friends.”

 Meg tried to say something, to break his gaze, but was unable to pull away. She watched as his right eye turned from blue to red.

 “ _Tell me everything you know about the Achievement Hunters.”_ Ryan ordered.

 Meg nodded. Of course, why would she ever even think to keep it a secret from him? He deserved to know it all. He was trustworthy and only had her best interests at heart.

 She began to divulge all. She needed to do her best and be as accurate as possible; how would she cope if she disappointed him? When she drew a blank or was missing information she began to apologise profusely, but Ryan was there to assure her it was ok.

 He smiled and thanked her for a job well done as his eye faded back to blue.

 She smiled and watched as he left. She felt proud of herself, but soon a generalised feeling of guilt and wrongness began to grow in the back of her mind. She closed her computer and packed it away, shaking her head trying to figure out what was wrong. As she left she stopped in the doorway and tried to remember just what had transpired. It had been a normal interview; why was she feeling as if she had just sentenced someone to their death?

~*~

 It was a busy evening at the Ramsey pub. Both Geoff and Griffon were out behind the bar serving patrons. They were both fully in their element, taking orders and yelling out banter. A natural entertainer, Geoff was tossing bottles and putting on quite the performance, using his powers to correct the course of any wayward trajectory.

 “Black label!” Griffon shouted from the far end of the bar.

 “Coming!” Geoff responded as he opened the correct bottle. With a flick of a finger the alcohol arced neatly through the air to fill a glass held up by Griffon. She then placed it before the patron.

 There was applause throughout the bar.

 Every shift where the Ramseys worked side by side flew by, and it was past two in the morning before they knew it. Last call had been twenty minutes ago, but they still had one patron who had fallen asleep at the bar.

 Geoff sighed, “Whose turn is it to clean up?” He gestured to the short but heavily built young man.

 Griffon crossed her arms, “I was with that poor girl in the bathroom - holding her hair back - just three days ago. Your turn, babe.”

 Geoff groaned and rolled his head back, “Fiiiiine.”

 He walked over to the young man and shook his shoulder, “Hey kid.”

 The only response was a groan.

 “We’re closed. Get yourself a cab or call a friend. We can’t lock you in here.” Geoff gave him a rough push on the shoulder.

  His head popped up with some bills stuck to his face, “Fuck. Sorry.” He felt his face and peeled off the bills before putting them on the counter.

 Geoff saw that he was absolutely plastered and felt for him, “Look, kid-”

 “Kerry.” Kerry corrected him.

 “Kerry. Do you have someone coming for you, because we can call a cab…?” Griffon asked as she was picking up glasses.

 Kerry shook his head, “That would be awesome. Thanks.” He grabbed the edge of the bar to steady himself, “You’re Geoff, right?”

 Geoff pointed behind the bar to their wall of employee portraits. His was the first and had his name on a plaque beneath it.

 Kerry squinted at the portrait but said nothing.

 Geoff sighed as he nodded, “Yes, I’m Geoff.”

 “Awesome.” Kerry nodded, “I have to tell you something.”

 Geoff crossed his arms and tilted his head, “Oh?”

 “Yeah.” Kerry blinked a few times and hoped he wasn’t too drunk to do this properly. If Ryan found out he’d screwed this up because Geoff made a mean margarita… well it could quite literally be the death of him. Kerry snapped his fingers as if remembering, “I just got out of prison and like, you and your Achievement Hunters were why I was there in the first place, but like no hard feelings ya’ know? And if you don’t recognise me, I totally get it. I was just some low life. They gave me a gun and made me feel like I was part of something.”

 Geoff leaned up against the bar and raised an eyebrow, but let Kerry continue.

 "Just wanted to say thanks, but like, I know it means nothing.“ Kerry shrugged.

 Geoff genuinely felt for the guy, "We don’t exactly get many ‘thank you’s from the guys we get arrested.”

 Kerry chuckled, “I bet.” He shook his head, “Anyway I figured if I could get you alone to talk I could return the favour, ya know? Not in a ‘gettin’ you arrested’ or revenge way.” He shook his hands in front of him to punctuate to statement.

 "With the amount of alcohol you’ve consumed, let’s just call it even.“ Geoff proposed.

 Kerry looked upset, "No, no. I mean I think I know what’s going on the crime in this city. See all my old friends; the ones that weren’t arrested or are already out. They’re getting involved in this 'big thing’ and that’s what they keep telling me. It’s a 'big thing’.”

 Geoff’s curiosity made him sit down on the stool next to Kerry. He asked Griffon to pour the kid some water.

 Kerry smiled, glad to have grabbed his attention, “But no one wants to say who’s behind it all, and won’t say what the 'big thing’ is unless I get involved. And like, I don’t want to go back to that, but then I thought, well what if I take advantage of this. If the Achievement Hunters need info, I could get back in and be their mole!” He was excited now.

 Geoff pulled at his moustache, the kid seemed nice and was definitely genuine, “You realize that’s the kinda thing people get killed over, right? I can’t have you dying on our behalf.”

 "I know most of these guys, I know how it all works - I mean yeah there’s the new guys - but criminals are criminals. I won’t need protection or anything like that. I can handle myself.“ Kerry justified.

 "You’re also drunk.”

 "I was determined to do this before the alcohol.“ Kerry insisted.

 Geoff looked to Griffon and ran his fingers through his hair. It was a stupidly tempting offer. They had nothing, and the enemy seemed no closer to slowing down, but to risk this kid’s life, "I like you, and your offer is something we really need, but I can’t comfortably allow you to do this.”

 Kerry put on a stern expression, “I’m not asking for permission. I just wanted to know if I would be of use. Since you clearly need a guy on the inside, I will be that guy.” He slammed his hand down on the bar top and stood with a sway. He sat himself down again before he fell, “Call the cab please.”

 Geoff played with his moustache, “Ok, if you are still determined to do this when you’re hung over tomorrow morning,” He pulled out a business card, “Call me. We can discuss the details.”

 Kerry gave a deep nod that could have been a bow, “Thank you, I will make up for everything.” He stumbled back to his feet and made his way to the door.

 Geoff gave him a wave as he left.

 Griffon walked up beside him, “Did you ever call the cab?”

 Geoff shook his head, “Nope.”

 Griffon put her hand to her mouth, “Oh dear.”

~*~

 His ringing phone drilled into his skull as it woke him.

 Kerry fumbled around to grab the annoying thing. Eyes still closed he answered the call and pulled the phone under the covers to put it next to his ear.

 “It’s Kerry.” He croaked.

 “It’s Ryan.” Ryan said, but his voice came both from the phone and within the room.

 Kerry bolted upright and saw Ryan standing at the foot of his bed. He looked around and realized he wasn’t in his room. This was a motel. Had he just wandered to the nearest lodging?

 “Fucking hell, Ryan.” Kerry cradled his head and squinted, “Did you track me down?”

 “Used the GPS on your phone.” Ryan explained and then crossed his arms, “So did you succeed?”

 “Uh.” Kerry tried to think back, “I think so.”

 “You ‘think so’?” His voice was calm but it hid a growing anger.

 Kerry was quick to pick up on his anger, and spoke quickly, “We talked and I got him to trust me. He was easy to work over; I didn’t even have to try.”

 “And?”

 “I need to call him today to confirm I’m still in, but otherwise we’re all set.” Kerry explained.

 Ryan raised an eyebrow, “You have his personal number?” he uncrossed his arms.

 Kerry hurried out of the bed and to the chair where he had tossed his jacket. He searched through his pockets until he found the business card. He held it aloft so Ryan could see, “Ta-dah!”

 “Is it a genuine number?” Ryan was in slight disbelief that it would be handed out so freely.

 “I can check right now!” Kerry jumped back onto the bed and fished his phone out from the sheets. He immediately dialed the number, “It’s ringing – Hello?” there was a pause and he put the phone on speaker.

 “This is Geoff, who’s this?” Geoff answered.

 “Uh, hi, it’s me, Kerry – from last night.”

 “You changed your mind now that you’re sober, right? No worries.” Geoff sounded sympathetic.

 Kerry looked up to Ryan who motioned for the card with Geoff’s number. He handed it over, “No actually. I told you it wasn’t the booze talking. I really do want to do this for you guys.” He tried to remember the story he had told last night, “To make up for everything.”

 “You don’t have anything to make up for, but if you are determined to risk your life like this, I can’t really pass on the offer.” Geoff explained.

 Kerry grinned and look to Ryan who was smirking, “Perfect! I won’t let you guys down!”

~*~

 Geoff stood in front of his team that was gathered on and around the couch, “Ok. We have two jobs today. We recently acquired an informant on the inside and he’s mentioned that after the botched ship job two weeks ago,” He glared at Gavin, “They are bringing their shipment in by land and have gained access to the large distribution center on the edge of town. That’s where they will be unloading their trucks in order to bring their weapons and whatever into the city. I want Michael, Ray, Lindsay, and myself on it.”

 There were nods in agreement.

 “Job number two,” He continued, “We have Ray to thank for. He overheard some people mentioning the old abandoned theatre, so he went to check it out. Turns out it isn’t so abandoned. I want Ray and Jack watching the place tonight. If anything starts to go down after we take care of the distribution center, storm the place and take in who you can. We can’t confirm that it’s the same party involved at both locations, but according to Ray that theater is being used as storage for enough explosives to destroy half the city. I think it’s fair to assume that operations on that scale are most likely related to each other.”

 Gavin looked stunned, “Oi, wait. Wot am I doing? You’re not benching me are you?”

 “Well,” Jack began.

 “Geoff?!” Gavin stood.

 Geoff put up his hands in a calming gesture, “Gavin, you’re on B-Team tonight. They need the extra set of hands.”

 Gavin looked to Lindsay and was in disbelief, “But she’s- You’re replacing me?!”

 “Lindsay’s an upgrade, not a replacement.” Michael stated and Lindsay gave him a high-five.

 “Un-bloody-believable!” Gavin threw his hands up and stormed from the room.

 Geoff shook his head and sighed.

 “That could have been handled better.” Jack told him, “Do you want me to go and talk to him?”

 Geoff put up a hand “No, don’t bother. We have to focus on the jobs at hand. The distribution center will require a certain level of tact, and there’s no way in hell I’d send him into a theatre packed with explosives.” He saw them nod in agreement, then ordered, “Ok get suited up. Let’s go!” He clapped his hands together and ushered them out of the room.

~*~

 Jack hung up his phone and looked to Ray, “They cleared out the distribution center without much problem. Apparently Lindsay swarmed them with pigeons and rats, and they didn’t exactly hang around long after that.”

 Ray shuddered and looked straight out the windshield of Jack’s small sedan, “Fucking rats, man. I don’t blame them. Those things can bite.”

 “They managed to catch a few guys before they all scattered, so hopefully they’ll have more info for us.” Jack looked to Ray, “Ray, what do your elf eyes see?”

 Ray punched Jack in the arm, “Fuck you.” Jack barely flinched, “It’s an old one stage theatre and it looks like everyone is down near the stage. They’re gesturing like they’re talking.” He gave a quick count, “Eighteen people, all armed. Some are leaning up against the – what is it called? – the place where the musicians go?”

 “Orchestra pit.” Jack answered.

 Ray continued, “A few of them are seated around as well, but most are standing. The crates of explosives have been moved to storage by the back – it’s like a loading dock area.”

 “We clear to sneak in?” Jack asked.

 “Honestly I don’t think they’re doing anything but talking. Geoff said to storm the castle if there was something going down.” Ray explained.

 “They could be in the midst of planning their next move and if anything those explosives alone are worth capturing.” Jack opened the car door and stepped out.

 Ray followed and hurried to keep up, “They’re using the old stage entrance around the side to get in and out. It’s unguarded.”

 They made their way around the building and to the small metal door. A notice of condemnation was taped to it. Jack tried it and found it was unlocked.

 “Ray?” Jack was curious.

 Ray shrugged, “It’s unlocked and unguarded, what do you want me to say? I can’t read minds.”

 “It’s suspicious.” Jack stated, “I understand if they assume our attention is elsewhere, but that won’t stop teens or coke heads from trying to find their way in.”

 Ray shrugged again, “Maybe they just don’t care? Or it’s a trap?”

 “They have no way of knowing we’re here.” Jack stepped inside carefully.

 Ray guided them in silence to the furthest entrance of the main theater. That way, should anyone decide to enter or exit they were most likely to take the direct route and entirely bypass them. As they neared the doorway to the main theater they dropped down onto their stomachs and crawled forward. The crumbling acoustics of the building still carried voices incredibly well, and they knew it would also work just as well for any noise they produced.

 Jack peeked in around the frame of a fallen door while Ray positioned himself next to him by a door that was just barely clinging onto its hinges.

 The main theater was in quite the state of decay. Plaster chunks that had fallen from the ceiling lay on many of the seats and dusted the floor. Cushions were torn where they still existed, and many seats were upturned or gone all together.

 The entire area was lit with a variety of construction lights placed on their tripods around the theater.

 Ray had been correct about the positions of the people; they were mostly down in front in an irregular circle to best facilitate discussion. Seven made up the inner circle and the remaining eleven milled about behind them. Of the seven, three were seated in the remaining chairs. Two were in the front row and one sat between them but two additional rows back. The other four formed a semi-circle facing them, with one sitting on the barrier before the orchestra pit.

 Jack gestured for him and Ray to sit still and listen in.

 The woman sitting on the edge of the orchestra pit put away her phone and continued, “They grabbed eleven of our guys tonight. That’s too many.”

 The man sitting a few rows back spoke, “It’s fine. It won’t be much longer now. You’ll get them back soon enough.”

 “Fucking better be right. I’m down over fifty men.” Another grumbled.

 “We knew they would attack the distribution center tonight. They got nothing important.” A front row seated man stated.

 One of the standing men stepped forward, “Nothing important? That’s my distribution they just took down! You may have manned it, but now there’ll be inquiries - and how the fuck am I supposed to move my product through there ever again?”

 A seated woman stood, “Yo don’t you even go bitching about that! Did you see what they did to my freighter? Melted all the wiring and blew a hole in the side!”

 “Ain’t nobody give a damn about your fucking boat!” Distribution man turned on her.

 “You did NOT just call The Burdened Maiden a ‘fucking boat’! That ship’s better than any woman you’ll ever get!” Boat woman shouted.

 “What did you just say about my bitch, bitch?!” Veins began to bulge in Distribution man’s neck.

 “Everybody just calm the fuck down.” Orchestra pit woman ordered loudly.

 “Calm down? We’ve lost so much and what do we have? We have nothing!” Distribution screamed.

 “Do we have a problem?” The man seated a few rows back asked.

 Distribution turned on him, “What, you think you’re funny? ‘Cause my name is Houston?” He turned to a subordinate behind him, “Yo P.K.”

 The man named P.K. walked up next to him.

 Houston spoke to him, “You hear this joker? Thinks he’s funny. Thinks he’s so clever.”

 “I do actually.” The mid row man responded completely calm.

 “That’s your warning to back the fuck down, Houston.” The man seated in the front row warned.

 “Abort mission.” Boat woman snickered.

 Houston puffed up like an angry bird and opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Orchestra pit.

 “You fucking men and your pissing contests. Stop wasting our time arguing whose dick is bigger and just do as you’re told.” She crossed her legs, “We get it, you’ve got fragile egos, but the world is a harsh place that doesn’t give a fuck. So woman up and see the bigger picture here.”

 Boat woman smiled, “Plus we all know I’ve got the biggest dick here.”

 Mid row man chuckled, “Undoubtedly.”

 Another standing man looked over to Houston, “We good, Houston? All clear?”

 From the look on Houston’s face it was very clear that they were not good. He sharply nodded to P.K. who pulled out a gun and handed it to him. Houston pointed the gun at Mid Row, “We’ll be good in a second. Still think you’re so smart?”

 The atmosphere immediately shifted to one of unease and fear. The group collectively seemed to lean away from the gun.

 “I told you he was goin’ to be a problem, man.” One of the standing men reminded Mid Row.

 Orchestra Pit had jumped down onto her feet and looked between the two men, “Don’t do it.”

 Mid Row gave a sharp laugh.

 Jack saw Ray go stiff as a board with his eyes wide open in horror. He nudged him.

 Ray just looked back to him and shook his head quickly, waving him away. Geoff still hadn’t told anyone about his vision and now was not the time to talk. Besides, just because the laugh was similar didn’t mean it was the same. He sounded too sane.

 Mid Row leaned back and rested his arms on the backs of the seats, “P.K. is it? You seem like a nice kid. You hungry?”

 A renewed wave of unease went through the crowd.

 Houston looked to P.K. and his confused expression. He cocked his handgun and looked back to Mid Row. His smug expression was only irritating him further, “The fuck you playin’ at?”

 “Ryan, please. Whatever idea you’re toying with, just don’t.” Orchestra Pit pleaded with Mid Row.

 Ryan just smiled and looked to P.K., “Answer the question.”

 P.K. looked to Houston and back to Ryan; he was hesitant to respond and shrugged, “Not really? A little, maybe?”

 Ryan locked eyes with him, “Well that’s just not acceptable.” His right eye turned red for a second before becoming blue once more.

 Houston was clearly perplexed by it but didn’t get to voice his question before P.K. jumped him, knocking his gun to the ground.

 The two began to struggle until P.K. got the upper hand and knocked Houston down. Houston was shouting in confusion and anger and when he looked towards Ryan he saw quite the grin growing on his face. His attention was immediately brought back to P.K. when the man grabbed his hand and bit into the base of his thumb.

 P.K. pulled back stripping the flesh down to tendon and bone.

 Houston screamed and began to try and escape as P.K. chewed the flesh and swallowed.

 Ryan began to laugh hysterically as P.K. pulled out a pocket knife from his back pocket and used it to cut Houston’s shirt off. He fought Houston’s arms until he managed to get his knife into his chest and cut a chunk of meat off of him.

 It was him. Ray was now sure of it. This Ryan was the man laughing in his dream, and he was beyond fucked up. It made sense now. If this man wielded some form of mind control it would explain why Jack would turn on them. This was far too dangerous; they had to leave now and regroup.

 Ray grabbed Jack’s arm and pulled on it urgently. He tried to motion for them to flee, but Jack grabbed him to keep him still. Jack motioned back to the horror show below.

 Ryan had stood up and made his way down to the two struggling men and stood over them.

 Houston screamed for help and looked to Ryan. Ryan put his hands in his pant pockets as he looked down. He kicked the dropped gun over to Houston who grabbed it without hesitation.

 There was a loud bang and P.K. fell over to the side. He exhaled and his eyes looked to the ceiling and then he was still.

 Houston was in complete shock but managed to get himself up into a seated position. The whites of his eyes were fully visible and he was shaking.

 “Are we clear now?” Ryan hummed.

 Houston was panting and looked to Ryan. He rapidly looked to everyone else there and saw that they were trying to not appear disgusted, but there was no sign of surprise among them.

 “You’re a fucking psychopath!” Houston screeched. He fumbled his weapon and managed to point it at Ryan.

 Ryan’s smile became a look of disappointment. He stared Houston in the eye and his own flashed red for a split second.

 Houston put his gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

 After the gunshot the silence was deafening. Everyone shifted uncomfortably, unwilling to break the silence.

 Ray put his hand over his mouth to muffle his breathing, but his heart seemed like the loudest thing in the world right now.

 Jack reached over and pat Ray in an effort to comfort them both.

 Ray shifted his weight and the wooden floor creaked loudly. Both he and Jack froze.

 Everyone down by the stage had heard it and they began to look towards the back of the theater.  Orders were barked and the subordinates fanned out into the seats while the leaders stayed back.

 Jack and Ray gave each other a look and jumped to their feet.

 “THERE!” A woman yelled and pointed towards the duo.

 Everyone’s heads snapped in their direction.

 “Cheese it!” Ray shouted and threw himself into a sprint. His arm was violently yanked back almost dislocating his shoulder. He looked back to see Jack had grabbed him by the wrist.

 Jack’s feet were rooted to the spot and hr was staring down towards the stage.

 “Jack!” Ray shouted and struggled against his grip even though he knew he could never over power him.

 Jack pulled him back towards him and changed his grip to a more solid one on Ray’s shoulder.

 “Come on.” Jack said and forced Ray to walk down towards the stage with him.

 Ray noticed Ryan staring Jack down and had little doubt that he was in Jack’s head.

 Ray had to think quickly. If his power was based on eye contact he had to break it. He focused his sight on the edge of Ryan’s jacket.

 Ryan yelped and rushed to remove the jacket as a corner of it burst into flame.

 Ray immediately turned to Jack only for Jack to pull him close with one arm and then use the other to cover Ray’s eyes.

  Ryan stomped out the fire and kicked the charred fabric aside with a laugh, “X-Ray, right?”

 Jack nodded in confirmation.

 Ryan looked to Jack, “And you must be Jack.”

 “Yes.” Jack answered.

 Ryan looked back at Jack, his right eye becoming red once more, “And why are two Achievement Hunters honouring us with their presence here tonight?”

 “Jack, don’t answer him. Snap out of it. You can fight it big guy, I know you can.” Ray tried hard to keep his voice calm but still vividly remembered the pain of his ribs being crushed.

 “Ray overheard some suspicious talk on the street about this theater. So he decided to scope it out. With most of the main team at the distribution center tonight, Geoff thought it best if we checked this place out after what Ray had said he saw.”

 “Jack, shut up!” Ray urged.

 “The explosives?” Ryan asked.

 “Yeah; he saw the explosives and knew it was suspicious.” Jack nodded.

 “JACK!” Ray shouted.

 Jack’s hand moved down from Ray’s eyes to cover his mouth, “Be quiet Ray.”

 Ryan’s dichromatic stare shifted down to Ray.

 Ray screwed his eyes shut to avoid his gaze.

 “Open them.” Ryan ordered.

 Ray did so and Jack let him go.

 Ray’s stare was indignant, “Do your worst, you fuck. I’ll leave you a charred husk!”

 Ryan tilted his head clearly intrigued, “Don’t burn anything else in here. The theater’s old and if it catches it’s highly probable we’ll all perish.”

 Ray realised Ryan was right; it wasn’t worth the risk.

 Ryan’s curiosity had been peaked; only verbal commands seemed to influence Ray. He would have to find time to play with him and see why this was. He’d never encountered it before, and he worried it could turn into a nuisance. Verbal commands tended to have too much room for interpretation and were much weaker in their influence.

 “Behave.” He ordered Ray and shifted his focus back to Jack.

 The silence that followed made Ray uneasy and he didn’t like how intently the two were staring at each other.

 “So what now, sir?” One of the men asked Ryan.

 Ryan seemed to snap out of a trance as did Jack. Both his eyes were blue again.

 The man who asked the question flinched when Ryan turned to him.

 “What?” Ryan asked and ran his hand through his hair.

 “What are we going to do with them, sir?” He reiterated.

 Ryan looked back to Jack and Ray and smiled, “They’re going to go back home. Get a good night’s rest.” He turned back to the group, “We on the other hand, have our hands full tonight; we’ve got explosives to move.”

~*~

 “Geoff!” Jack hollered as he pushed open the heavy vault door to the bunker.

 “Geeeeoooooooffff!” Ray wailed following Jack into The Tower of Pimps.

 They hurried downwards to their main living area where the kitchen and a large seating area resided.

 Gavin, Michael, and Lindsay were on the couches playing a card game while the TV reported the news in the background. They all looked up towards the newcomers with concern,

 “What’s going on?” Michael stood.

 “Where the fuck is Geoff?!” Ray spoke quickly.

 Jack motioned for him to calm down, “We need to talk to Geoff. We may have just discovered the guys behind this whole crime spree.”

 Geoff jogged up the stairs into the room, “What the fuck is going on? I leave for a piss and you guys come screaming in like banshees.”

 “It’s mind control, Geoff!” Ray spoke louder than necessary.

 Geoff looked to Jack, “What happened? Tell me everything.”

 Ray was going to protest, but had a second thought. If Jack spoke his side of the story he could compare it to what he himself had experienced. It could provide valuable insight to how Jack felt while under Ryan’s control.

 The beginning of Jack’s story matched what Ray would have said, but then it began to diverge, “I grabbed Ray; they’d seen us. Running wasn’t an option. There was too many of them, plus their leader seemed to be quite… disturbed.” Jack felt that was an apt enough description without assuming his mental state, “I had to think quickly and make a decision without consulting Ray” He turned to Ray, “Sorry.”

 Ray just nodded.

 Jack continued, “Our only chance was to co-operate and talk our way out. I didn’t know what else we could do. Ray tried to create a distraction by setting the guy’s jacket on fire, but it was nowhere near enough.”

 “You call that a distraction?” Gavin asked Ray.

 “Shut up, Gavin.” Geoff ordered.

 Jack continued, “Ray seemed to fall under his influence after that; all the fight left him and he just kind of stood there.”

 “Whoa, what?” Ray shook his head, “You were the one that was ready to suck his fucking cock!” Ray explained his side of the story to Geoff.

 There was quiet as everyone in the room processed the information.

 “Fuck.” Lindsay cursed in a hushed whisper, “What if they’re both right, Geoff? What if this Ryan guy really can manipulate you to a point where you actually think it’s your own decision?”

 “That’s bollocks.” Gavin crossed his arms, “How could you not know?”

 Geoff was rubbing his chin deep in thought.

 “It was the same guy, Geoff. The guy laughing in my dream. It’s this guy, this Ryan. He has fucking mind control powers.” Ray explained and then struggled with the next part, “I think we can’t trust Jack on this one.”

 “What?” Jack looked to Ray.

 Geoff groaned and pulled at his hair, “You’re both in time out until further notice.”

 “Geoff, we’re swamped as it is; we can’t be down two men!” Michael complained.

 “Me too?” Ray looked offended.

 “You’re both going into lock up until we can be 100% sure neither of you is just acting out some twisted set of instructions without knowing it.”

 “Geoff, I’m fine. I feel like myself.” Jack assured him, “But if it makes you feel more comfortable, I’ll do it.”

 “It was Jack he was mind fucking, not me.” Ray explained.

 “But you wouldn’t know, would you?” Lindsay posed a hard hitting question.

 “All we have is a first name and a laugh. What the fuck are we supposed do with that?” Geoff shook his head, “And the fucking fuck fucks with your fucking head. Fuck!” he slammed his hands down onto his thighs.

 “Meg interviewed a Ryan for the paper last week. Not his real name though. She said he was your typical lawyer and tried to hit on her.” Gavin mused.

 “I don’t think this guy was a lawyer.” Ray muttered.

 “Actually,” Michael thought out loud, “A lawyer would make sense, wouldn’t it? Gets his guys arrested and then uses mind control on the jury to get them out.”

 Lindsay nodded, “Yeah, except that everyone is getting prosecuted and sent to jail, and now we barely have any room left for any more.”

 Jack perked up, “Gavin, text Meg. See if you can get a full name and picture. It will literally take us two seconds to confirm or deny it. It’s a long shot, but it’s something. And we have a whole lot of nothing right now.”

 Gavin nodded and pulled out his phone.

 “If I’m going into lock up can I at least get Wi-Fi?” Ray figured it was worth a shot.

 Geoff shook his head, “Sorry, no.”

 “My phone?” Ray tried.

 “There’s no signal down there.” Jack reminded him.

 “Fuck, can I have my 3DS then?!” Ray threw his hands up.

 “Yeah, go ahead.” Geoff sighed.

 “Hey guys,” Gavin threw his hand up, “She interviewed a James Ryan Haywood. Criminal defense lawyer.” He stood and walked over to Ray and Jack, “Bugger has a LinkedIn.” He showed them his phone, “Is this him?”

 “Oh shit.” Jack recognised him immediately, “That’s actually him.”

 “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?” Ray grabbed at his hair, “Meg interviewed the guy just last week?!”

 Everyone crowded around Gavin and his phone to better see.

 Lindsay grabbed the phone from Gavin and zoomed in on the portrait, “Well fuck.” She gave the phone back to him.

 “What?” Michael noticed her expression.

 “The last apartment I had before I moved to Achievement City; this was my neighbour.”

 “No bloody way.” Gavin gasped.

 Lindsay nodded, “Really nice guy, funny too. Watched my cats whenever I left to visit Michael’s family.”

 "You’ve met this guy?!“ Geoff was baffled.

 There was a minor squabble among them as they tried to make sense of everything.

 Geoff finally grabbed Gavin’s phone and began to read through Ryan’s page. It was completely normal; impressive even, but then he saw it.

 Geoff threw the phone full force across the room. He had enough sense to send it into a plush couch, but it was clear he was livid, "THAT CUNT!”

 Gavin squawked and ran over to his phone but Jack got to it before he did.

 He looked at the screen, “Oh no.” He breathed and turned to Geoff, “Oh no.”

 Gavin pried his phone from Jack’s fingers and read what was on the screen.

  _“People who viewed this profile also viewed:_

_Kerry Shawcross, Legal Assistant at Haywood Legal Services.”_

 Gavin gasped, “Kerry.”

 Geoff was screaming gibberish in his rage and spewing profanity. He pulled out his own phone and began to dial the number he had for Kerry.

 "Pick up, you fucking cock suck.“ He muttered and then cursed as a robotic voice told him the number was no longer in service, "We’ve been had!”

  There were groans of concern and anger around the room, but mostly they worried that Geoff might take it upon himself to right this wrong.

 "You had no way of knowing.“ Jack put his hand on Geoff’s shoulder.

 "Can’t trust anybody these days.” Michael sighed.

 "So what now? How do even begin to approach taking down someone like this?“ Ray wanted to bring everyone back to the matter at hand. It would help them focus and target their anger more productively.

 "As I see it we have three options. Option one: we storm his office with him in it and hope that the element of surprise is enough of an advantage to take him down before he can use his powers. Option two: we continue our suspiciously successful crime sweep. This now appears to be exactly what he wanted. Or option three: we play the waiting game and see who moves first.” Geoff counted off on his fingers.

 "So option three is just a nice way of saying “we do nothing”.“ Michael pouted.

 "If Ray and I are already compromised, then we are down two men. B-team is good, but this is lining up to be a potential bloodbath. If Ryan were to take control of any of them? Well we’re done for. Ray and I you can lock up. Any of you except maybe Gavin could also be easily contained. But Kdin, whose body can barely contain his power? Jeremy who only grows stronger while weakening his opponent? And Matt with his semi-solid illusions? He can project those anywhere!” Jack was shaking his head, “We can’t have B-team involved, not until we find a way to either negate or avoid his mind control.”

 Lindsay nodded but still argued, “The boys won’t be happy to hear that. They will want to help.”

 "They’ll just have to understand.“ Geoff explained.

 Gavin spoke quietly, "Whatever we do, it’s like we’re playing right into his hands. But you can’t honestly expect us to accept 'doing nothing’ as a viable option.”

 "We’ll figure something out, ok?“ Geoff took a breath, "Right now it’s late, and we’re all tired. We need rest and time to think things over.”

 Michael knew this was Geoff’s way of trying to end the argument, “You can’t be serious. The last thing any of us should be doing right now is sleeping!”

 Geoff seemed to ignore him, “Jack, Ray, grab your stuff and follow me down to the cells. Everyone else, find a soft place to go horizontal. I’m not discussing this further until tomorrow.”

 "Geoff,“ Ray wanted to protest.

 "No, Ray. End of discussion. Tomorrow we deal with all of this.” Geoff was adamant.

 Jack nodded, “Geoff’s right. We’re tired and overwhelmed. Our heads need to digest everything, and sleep is the best way to do it.”

 "Thank you, Jack.“ Geoff let his exhaustion show.

 They begrudgingly rounded up their things and lay down. The Tower of Pimps had enough beds to accommodate them all with relative privacy, but after the night’s events that did little to aid their sleep.

~*~

 Lindsay felt the vibrate only alarm on her phone go off in her pocket. When it woke her she had been momentarily confused, but her memory of last night quickly came back. She rolled over to see Michael asleep next to her. He had migrated off of his pillow and half way down the mattress into a curled up position. It may have had something to do with the fact that about 70% of the covers were now on Lindsay’s side.

 She unwrapped the blanket burrito she had created in her sleep and gently moved it back onto Michael. Quietly she slipped out of bed and out of the room.

 She passed an unconscious Geoff on the couch upstairs. He was snoring with one arm hanging down off the edge of the couch right over about half a dozen empty beer bottles.

 He didn’t even stir as she hurried by. Her only worry was if Ray was awake. He would be able to see her sneaking out, but wasn’t necessarily the type to call her out on it.

 She got into her car and tried to make herself even slightly presentable using the rear view mirror. It was a futile endeavour so she grabbed Michael’s beanie from the passenger seat and pulled it down over her head. She pulled out her phone and did a quick search for the address she wanted before setting off.

 It didn’t take long to find it. It was just outside downtown Achievement City in a nice little four story office space. Parking was no challenge as the building had its own space around back.

 Feeling like she was doing something illegal, she pulled her jacket tightly around herself and walked into the small lobby. There was a long list of names and businesses by the elevators and she immediately found the one she was looking for.

  _James Haywood Attorney at Law_

Her anxiety only rose with the elevator. This was stupid. So, so stupid.

 But she was having a hard time believing that the man she knew was indeed the one behind everything. Last night she had omitted that she considered Ryan a close friend. Yes, he would have his moments where he was a bit off, but it had all been within the realm of normal. For the most part.

 Now she was second guessing herself.

 She stepped off the elevator and made her way down the plain brown hallway, checking every name on the way. Finally she found it and opened the door before she could allow herself to hesitate.

 The small reception area was empty but she could hear rummaging from one of the offices behind it.

 She approached the open door to the office to see Ryan crouched down and going through a filing cabinet.

 She jumped when he spoke.

 "Kerry, do you have any idea where the files for Sorola and Burns vs. Dunkelman are?” Ryan sounded frustrated and asked the question without turning around.

 "Um.“ Lindsay wasn’t sure what to say.

 Ryan spun around in surprise, "You’re not Kerry.” He stated the obvious.

 Lindsay gave a shy wave, “Hi, Ryan.”

 Ryan stood and pushed the filing cabinet drawer closed with his foot, “I’m assuming you’re not here for legal advice, are you, Lindsay?”

 "No.“

 "Are you here as Lindsay Tuggey, or as an Achievement Hunter?” Ryan asked.

 "It’s actually Jones now. And I’m here as Lindsay. The rest of the Achievement Hunters don’t know I’m here.“ She stated truthfully.

 "Why are you here?” He was clearly having difficulty understanding her presence.

 "I actually have the same question, for you.“ Lindsay crossed her arms.

 Ryan gestured around him, "This is my office.”

 Lindsay rolled her eyes, “You well know what I mean.”

 "I just opened an office where there was business.“

 "Please cut the shit, Ryan. Jack and Ray positively identified you last night. Consider me being here your warning. Next time it won’t be casual conversation.”

 Ryan chuckled, “What do you want me to say?”

 "The truth!“

 Ryan shrugged and went over to sit behind his desk. He gestured for Lindsay to seat herself.

 Lindsay approached his desk but didn’t seat herself, "You instigated a murder suicide last night! There was cannibalism involved! You have fucking mind control powers?! Since when?” She took a breath, “And since when do you fucking murder people?”

 "I’m not going to confirm or deny that accusation.  As an aside; you know how those criminal types are. They won’t respect you unless you spill some blood. And in regards to my penchant for manipulating people; it’s something I’ve always had an aptitude for.“

 "It’s straight up mind control.” Lindsay argued.

 Ryan leaned back, “It’s considerably more nuanced than that.”

 "Mind. Control.“ She threw her hands up and dropped down into the seat in front of his desk, "What are you planning? Is this about the money? Some sick cycle to feed more people into the system so you have better job security?”

 Ryan appeared confused by her conclusion, “You realise it’s my job to keep people **out** of jail, right? Between all the successful prosecutions and working pro-bono I’m not making money off this. At least nothing worth writing home about. Now maybe if I was a state prosecutor; but they’re salaried anyway, so no.”

 "There’s no reason why you’re not winning your cases then.“ Lindsay crossed her arms, "Mr. Mind Control.”

 "Uh, the legal process, maybe? They’re all guilty and there’s abundant proof of it. I start winning those cases too often and it’s my ass on the line. If the Achievement Hunters don’t notice then someone else will.“ Ryan told her.

 "So I’m to believe you are above manipulating a jury, but not above making a man eat his boss alive? And while you are orchestrating some massive crime spree, you are gaining nothing from it?” Lindsay was staring him down.

 "I don’t mix business and pleasure.“ He saw the joke didn’t go over well and sighed, "Look, listen to what I’m about to say: This has nothing to do with you or the other members of Achievement Hunter. Don’t get involved and you won’t get hurt. I’ve been keeping you all busy, simply because I had to. But now things change. The storm will pass and as long as you stay inside it will miss you.”

 Lindsay wasn’t one to back down because of a threat, “Well you’re just gonna have to make me, because if you haven’t noticed it’s kind of my job to stop whatever the fuck it is you are doing.”

 Ryan frowned, “Please just trust me.”

 "Is that even possible? How would I know it was me trusting you and not you making me trust you?“

 "Well you wouldn’t.” Ryan gave a lopsided smile, “If it makes you feel any better I’m not, nor have I ever used my power on you. But don’t think I won’t if it comes to it.”

 Lindsay was skeptical but looped back to a previous topic that still bothered her, “If this isn’t about money, then what is it about?”

 "It’s about the only thing that matters, Lindsay.“ Ryan informed her, "Power.”

 "Power? You can have anyone do or give you anything!“ Lindsay protested, "What more could you possibly want?”

 Ryan opened his mouth to answer but a loud voice from outside silenced him.

 "Sorry I’m late!“ Kerry was shouting as he moved around the office space setting up for the day, "After last night - I mean damn - that was some Mad King territory. Or at least super close to it. I was worried I’d have to wash blood off of you with a hose before work tod-” He stepped into Ryan’s office and saw Lindsay, “-ay… Metaphorically of course.” He pumped his fist and gave a nervous smile, “Slay those cases! Yayyy?”

 "Kerry,“ Ryan stated.

 "Yeah, uh, what’s she doing here?” his mock cheery demeanour was wearing thin. He tried to lean as naturally as he could in the doorway while hiding his surprise.

 "Hi Kerry.“ Lindsay greeted cheerily, "I’m interrogating your boss.”

 "And here I was thinking this was a simple conversation.“ Ryan was sarcastic.

 Kerry looked to Ryan as if waiting for a hint for what his next action should be, but none came, "I’m, I’m going to make some coffee. Everyone want a coffee?” He left before any of them responded.

 Ryan immediately returned to the conversation, “It’s boredom. Living a life with no consequences leaves the only one left to challenge you be yourself. People will tell you you can’t do things or 'that’s impossible’, and most will hear that and take it as truth. What’s true for most isn’t true for me, so if you tell me that I can’t do something it is the surest way to ensure I’ll do it!”

 "And who’s telling you you can’t organise a crime spree?!“ Lindsay was getting angry.

 "This is a personal challenge. To push the boundaries of what even I consider possible. And let me tell you that the harder you and the rest of Achievement Hunter fight me on this, the more motivated I become to succeed!” Ryan had begun to raise his voice.

 "You’re hurting people! It isn’t just about you!“ Lindsay was on the brink of total frustration.

 "You know what people do, Lindsay? They die! So why would the details of how and when matter?”

 "The fuck kind of insane logic is that?!“ Lindsay stood in her anger.

 "Mine!” Ryan stood so Lindsay wouldn’t have the high ground. He was much taller than she, and now was the one looking down on her.

 "These are human lives! People are not your pawns!“ her eyes were filled with fury.

 "Pawns?” Ryan gave an angry laugh before slamming his hands down on his desk and meeting Lindsay’s glare, “They are slaves! I let them live their lives until they have the honour of being culled for a greater purpose. My will is unquestioned! My rule is universal!”

 Kerry had been listening to the conversation from the coffee machine and decided now was the time to interrupt before there was blood to clean. He grabbed two coffees and rushed into Ryan’s office before either of them could protest.

 He stepped between them and placed down the mugs, “Lindsay.” He looked to Ryan, “My liege.”

 Ryan looked Kerry over as if sizing him up, but then his gaze softened and he grabbed the coffee.

 Pleased that he had made Ryan realize where the argument was most likely heading, Kerry turned to Lindsay, “I think it’s time you left.”

 "Like fuck it is!“ Lindsay shouted at Kerry and then turned to Ryan, "You need some serious fucking help, Ryan. Like I don’t blame you, but you have to know on some level that this isn’t” She struggled to find the right word but choked, “good!”

 Ryan could feel his blood pressure rising again. Good? Who cared about what was good and what was bad? The world was not black and white, and that was such an infuriatingly childish outlook. One person’s white could very easily be another’s black; there were no absolutes - it was those with power that decided what was good and what was bad. Where good was just that which served their interests. It was time for the system to be broken, time for another to decide what was good and bad. And he had been born with the power to do just that.

 To sit idly by as the world fell apart; was that not the greatest evil?

 Ryan calmed himself with the knowledge that there was no way Lindsay could understand - not unless he _made_ her understand, but it wasn’t worth the effort.

 He grabbed her gaze, “ _Leave.”_ He ordered.

 Lindsay stood with a huff, “Fine! Clearly I can’t talk the crazy out, so maybe I’ll just have to beat it out of you!” She turned to leave, “Don’t think I’ll hold back on whooping your ass just because you used to watch my cats!” She stormed out.

 "How’s Meowser Von Snuggle?“ Ryan shouted after her with a mischievous smirk.

 A muffled shout of "Still fluffy!” rang down the hall.

 "You watched her cats?“ Kerry asked once it was clear she was gone.

 "We used to be neighbours.” Ryan sat himself down behind his desk once more with a sigh. He took a sip of the coffee Kerry had brought.

 "Sorry I interrupted like that.“ Kerry apologised, "I was worried we’d be soon dealing with the Mad King if I didn’t break it up.” He gave a nervous laugh.

 "Stop treating me as if I become another person.“ Ryan complained, "There is no 'Mad King’.”

 "What else do you want me to call you when you get that way? Blame the heat of the moment or whatever you want, but you are not the same person when you get that way.“ Kerry argued.

 "I’m _exactly_ the same person, Kerry. You may as well call me the Mad King all the time.” Ryan took another sip of his coffee.

 "As you command, my liege.“ Kerry said is a fake accent and gave a deep bow.

 Ryan threw a pen at Kerry and its point hit him right in the chest.

 Kerry flinched, "Ow!” He rubbed the place where it had hit, “I just had this shirt dry cleaned, and now you’ve gotten ink on it.”

 Ryan’s hand slipped into his coat and he pulled out a small black throwing knife, “You rather it be your blood?”

 Kerry laughed and waved him away, “Oh and by the way I took the Sorola, Burns vs. Dunkelman case to review yesterday. So if you want it before court today, just let me know.”

~*~

 "NOTHING!“ Michael roared and threw his hands up in the air. He stormed into the main living area of the Tower of Pimps.

 It had been ten days since they had found Ryan out, and in that time not one major crime had been committed. No murder, no grand theft, no gang crime - It was ridiculous. Achievement Hunter wasn’t about to go and take down jay walkers or shoplifters.

 Ray and Jack had been let out of their cells but we’re still under house arrest. Not allowed to leave the tower the two of them had made themselves comfortable.

 Ray walked into the room brushing his teeth, "Not even a drug dealer?” He annunciated around the brush.

 Jack was stretched out on one of the couches and put the novel he was reading down, “No rumours or whispers?”

 "From who? Everyone who’s anyone’s in jail. The remaining few have evaporated.“ Gavin walked in behind Michael, and was followed by Lindsay.

 "Any news from your furry friends?” Jack looked to Lindsay.

 Lindsay sighed, she was clearly as frustrated as Michael, “Unless we want to bust the guy selling knock off handbags and watches near the arena, we’re out of work.”

 She hadn’t told them about her conversation with Ryan two weeks prior and she couldn’t help but remember his analogy of a storm. Was this his fabricated calm? When would the storm break? What even was this storm he had warned her about?

 "Did Geoff find anything yet?“ Michael grabbed the TV remote and turned on the news. They weren’t reporting anything of interest to them.

 Jack stifled a yawn, "Geoff’s still at the ACPD trying to get more interviews with inmates. Nobody’s told him anything useful yet but he won’t let it go.”

 Ray left to finish brushing his teeth.

 "Sausages.“ Gavin cursed and threw himself down next to Jack.

 "How is he doing this? I mean yes like 90% of the criminal population is behind bars and he has the benefit of mind control, but this is literally hundreds of people he’d have to be controlling simultaneously. Right?” Michael mused.

 "He only needed to control the kingpins and leaders.“ Jack explained, "Once all the underlings are in prison they are off the playing board. He only had to control the operations of each group through their boss until there was no one left. Then he could move onto the next. Besides, just the threat of mind control probably had everyone eager to listen, so he only needed to control one or two people at any given time.”

 "Damn, we need to have you under house arrest more often.“ Gavin was impressed.

 "Ray and I had a lot of time to talk.” Jack confessed.

 Ray returned, “It’s fucking boring. The only reason I’m still sane is because of videogames.” He turned to Jack as he sat down across from him, “Not that you’re boring, Jack.”

 "How’s B-team?“ Lindsay brought up the topic.

 "Still complaining, and although they insist they’re civilian, I have little doubt that they are hard at work investigating like we are.” Jack shook his head with a smile.

 "As long as they don’t get got.“ Michael warned.

 "What are their chances of happening across Ryan anyway? Regular crims maybe…” Gavin thought out loud.

 "Slim. Unless he’s specifically hunting them down. But we have no reason to believe he’s targeting any of us.“ Lindsay said.

 Jack gave a nod, "You’re right. He had us distracted with crime but never led us into a trap or tried to attack us directly. Whatever his end plan is, it doesn’t seem to target us.”

 Notifications went off on all their phones, and they all scrambled to check the message.

 It was from Geoff, two words, “Suit up”

 They looked to each other confused.

 "Does he mean us too?“ Ray was referring to him and Jack. Both their phones displayed the message.

 A follow-up text came, "All of you. NOW.”

 Worried glances were exchanged before they all immediately sprinted to grab their gear.

 Ray and Jack were so eager to leave that they managed to get ready well before the others. They returned to the living area where Jack immediately grabbed the remote and increased the volume.

 On the screen was an aerial shot of a large smoke plume and several smaller ones around it. All were coming from a large concrete building.

 "-After what is being reported as extensive riots within the Obsidianne Correctional Compound several explosions were heard. The walls and fences have been breached and the guards overwhelmed. Inmates are escaping and they appear to have armed themselves.

 Reports are coming in from various sources and social media that this is not the only prison affected, and that similar escapes are underway at other (thankfully smaller) facilities. Citizens in the area are advised to remain inside and lock their doors.“

 By the time the reporter had finished all of Achievement Hunter had suited up and were standing gaping at the TV.

 Jack snapped them back to the present, "Geoff needs us. We can’t stand here. Michael get the car.”

 Michael nodded and rushed out, the rest of them were quick to follow.

 "We are now confirming reports that the prisoners are indeed heading into populated areas. Police forces are mobilising and ask that everyone get off the roads and inside somewhere safe in order to avoid injury.“ The reporter informed just before Jack pressed the power button on the remote.

~*~

 "Aww lookit here; pigs ain’t so bold now are they?” The ex-prisoner mocked as he and his fellows armed themselves in full SWAT gear. Thirty of them had stormed into the station and overwhelmed the skeleton crew. Most cops were busy out in the streets getting shot at.

 Majority of the cops in the station they had killed outright but a remaining few they had bound and decided to keep as hostages. They had been striped almost nude and their clothing was now on the prisoners.

 "We gonna hole up here or go looting?“ One prisoner asked.

 "Fuck y'all I’m gonna get that cash money and gold!” Another responded and others cheered.

 "Better hurry then; I bet that’s where most are going.“ Someone shouted from the middle of the group.

 "What about our hostages?”

 "Bring 'em!“

 "No, fuck you, I ain’t carrying dead weight.”

 "Let’s just kill them and go; we’ve got what we need.“

 There was violent agreement among the group.

 A loud ursine roar silenced everyone.

 "The fuck…?” There were murmurs of confusion.

 With a bang the room filled with smoke and all the fire sprinklers immediately went off.

 Growls filled the room and were followed by gunshots and screams.

 "There’s hostages!“ Came a shout from a dark haired man in a green and black uniform. He wore large dark lensed glasses that didn’t seem to impede his vision at all.

 He rushed over and began unbinding the hostages.

 "X-Ray!” One hostage gleefully exclaimed as he removed the gag.

 Ray smiled and gave a small salute. He turned to yell behind him, “This way!”

 Michael jogged forward out of the smoke wearing a uniform similar to Ray’s but without the glasses.

 "Mogar!“ Another hostage gasped.

 Michael gave a quick nod to acknowledge the name, "Is anyone hurt? We can get you to the hospital, but honestly I think remaining here will be the safest option.”

 The group assessed their injuries and found nothing major.

 "Alright, I’ll get the sprinklers turned off. You help them hole up in the armoury.“ Ray told Michael.

 "Based on the firefight we had to get through to get in here, the armoury’s already been picked clean. We’ll have to scrape up what we can from those we downed.” Michael responded and nodded.

 Ray sprinted off and Michael began to shepherd people to the relative safety of the armoury.

 Across town Matt and Jack were defending the largest hospital in the city against looters.

 Right downtown Geoff, Gavin, and Kdin attempted to keep the peace, but it was apparent that the city had gone into a complete riot with citizens and criminals alike trying to take advantage of it.

 Lindsay had taken to the rooftops and was calling on all the airborne eyes in the city to help her in the search for Ryan. Jeremy remained next to her to watch her back while she was busy with her feathered friends. So far all they had found was chaos.

 "How do we know he hasn’t just locked himself in a bunker somewhere?“ Jeremy asked Lindsay.

 "He’s not the type. He’s probably down there somewhere making his way through the crowds. Either that or he’s watching everything from a nice vantage point.” Lindsay explained.

 Ray’s voice came through their earpieces, “Who cares where he is, how are we going to deal with him when we do find him? Right now our best plan is to just pray we don’t run into him.”

 It was Geoff who responded, “You’re not wrong, Ray. We can’t let him get to any one of us. We’re on damage control for now.

 Honestly I’m hoping Ray could maybe get a tranq gun and hit the guy before he has a chance to know what’s up. We’d be able to subdue him, but it won’t solve any of our problems once he wakes up.”

 "So then in about an hour we’ll have a pissed off psychic with mind control powers locked in the same building as us? Sounds like a great scenario. What are we gonna do? Somebody at some point is going to have to feed him, and then we’re fucked!“ Michael complained.

 It was Kdin who spoke next, "Well actually I was thinking what if we used the serum?”

 "What serum?“ Michael was confused.

 Geoff sighed, "The one we used on the Diddler.”

 Kdin was happy that Geoff remembered, “Yeah. It’s still experimental, and that was the only human test of it, but it could be our saving grace here.”

 There was a loud growl from Michael as he began to fight his way through attackers, but it didn’t stop him from continuing the conversation, “Wouldn’t it have the same problem as the tranquilizers? Once it wears off-”

 Kdin was quick to explain, “The beauty of the serum is it lasts much longer in the body. One dart could last as long as two days. As long as it’s in his blood stream he won’t be able to consciously use his powers.”

 Jack was hesitant, “We barely know how it works. Yes, we have a rough idea that it puts up a barrier in the brain between the conscious mind and the emotional but with someone like this who’s power is so specific… What if it doesn’t work? We still don’t know where in the brain powers are controlled, or how. Plus this guy is a psychic; messing with the brain will directly mess with his abilities.”

 It was Matt who took it upon himself to correct Jack, “It doesn’t block the conscious mind. He’d be fully lucid just unable to access his powers. It messes with the connections for decision making control and will power. So his powers would still be there, but only capable of being used subconsciously. With such a logic based power it would render him pretty much useless. The best part is; since it lasts as long as it’s in his system, we could keep him disarmed as long as we need.”

 "Hypothetically.“ Jeremy added, "But we have no clue of the side effects or if it will even work on a psychic! I still say that the tranq is a better idea.”

 "A tranq doesn’t guarantee a cessation of his influence over those he controls. The serum would.“ Kdin argued.

 Geoff groaned, this meant the decision would be his, "Alright. Kdin go back to the Tower and prepare what you need for the serum. Call Caleb in, because I’m sure that even without his powers he’ll put up a fight and we’ll probably need to patch him up. After we have the serum in our hands we’re going to be fully focused on finding him.”

 They all cringed as the scream of a hawk was transmitted over their ear pieces.

 "Lindsay!“ Michael yelled in irritation.

 "We found Kerry!” There was the sound of a variety of birds and maddened flapping as well as Kerry’s screams.

 Kerry was roughly dropped down onto the gravel covered rooftop and looked around bewildered, “What the FUCK? Lindsay?” He spat out a feather and turned to Jeremy, “And who the fuck are you?”

 Lindsay wasn’t going to humour him, “Where’s Ryan?!”

 Kerry stood and straightened the bullet proof vest he was wearing, “What? Like I should know?”

 Jeremy wasn’t in the mood to deal with any smartass shit right now. He grabbed Kerry by his vest and threatened him with a fist, “Where’s your boss, dough boy?”

 Kerry put up a finger, “Well first of all, that was uncalled for. Secondly, why the fuck would he tell me? He’s the staple boy for going off and doing whatever the fuck he wants.”

 Lindsay went through his pockets and found his phone.

 "Hey!“ Kerry protested.

 Upon seeing the lock screen she handed it to him, "Unlock and call him.”

 Kerry looked at her as if she were an idiot, “Like he’s gonna answer now and not the previous hundred times I called.”

 Jeremy shook him, “Do it.”

 "Ok, jeeze, calm down.“ Kerry began to dial.

 "On speaker.” Lindsay ordered.

 Kerry made a show of pressing the speaker button.

 After a few rings the call was answered by Ryan, “I see you’re still alive.” He joked.

 Kerry did his best to sound natural, “Yeah, you’ll have to try harder to get rid of me.” He laughed, “So about… everything,”

 "You know the plan, stick to it. I’ll let you know if anything changes.“ Ryan was suspicious as soon as he had gotten the call. Kerry was fully capable of handling himself and knew not to interrupt.

 "Uh,” Kerry looked to Lindsay and Jeremy for a clue as to what to say but got none, “What if something has changed? Any chance we could meet or you tell me where you are?”

 Ryan sighed, “The Achievement Hunters are holding you aren’t they?”

 "No?“ Kerry wasn’t convincing anyone.

 Lindsay rolled her eyes, "Come out and fight us you fucking coward!”

 Ryan just laughed in response, “They made you put me on speaker, huh? Which of them are there?”

 "All of us.“ Lindsay said a little too quickly, "And we’re coming for you.”

 "I’m sure you are. I look forward to watching you all tear each other apart.“ Ryan wasn’t at all intimidated.

 Jeremy scoffed in disbelief.

 "Kerry- Actually you know what? Lindsay. _Slap him._ ” Ryan ordered.

 Jeremy laughed but was abruptly silenced by Lindsay’s hand striking him across the face.

 "Lindsay what the fuck?!“ He exclaimed as Ryan could be heard laughing on the other end of the line.

 Kerry laughed as well and Jeremy threatened him with a slap of his own.

 Lindsay looked perplexed as if she didn’t know why she had struck Jeremy. It had just felt appropriate to do so.

 "Jeremy I’m so sorry. I don’t know why-” She turned back to the phone.

 "I think I know exactly why.“ Jeremy reached over and ended the call, "He told you to. So you did.”

 "He- what? Over the phone?!“ She looked to Kerry for an answer.

 Kerry shrugged, "You wanted me to call him on speaker, so I did.” He smiled.

 Lindsay scowled and grabbed Kerry’s arms, pulling them back behind him. She did it as roughly as possible.

 "Ow!“ Kerry whined, "I did exactly what you told me! I’m cooperating!”

 "No, you’re being as shifty as your boss, you rat bastard.“ Jeremy explained.

 "That’s not fair to rats.” Lindsay huffed and made sure to make his bindings nice and snug.

 "Aw come on. It was pretty good. Like you wouldn’t have slapped him anyway.“ Kerry argued.

 Lindsay ignored him and spoke through her communicator, "Geoff, we have Kerry. Taking him to lock up now.”

 "Great! Let’s all regroup and get the serum loaded and ready.“ Geoff answered in her ear piece.

~*~

 Ryan leaned on the short barrier that surrounded the rooftop of the mid-sized skyscraper. He had a perfect view of downtown Achievement City from here.

 He closed his eyes and inhaled the smoke. Up here the chaos was almost peaceful. Screams and alarms were muffled. The streets were illuminated by the fire of burning cars.

 He exhaled and opened his eyes. He’d had his fun. Now it was time to start the clean up before things got beyond even his control.

 It was amusing how beneath the thin veneer of civility humanity was a greedy and violent beast. He had thought it would be more difficult; but people were just so full of fear he had had to do barely anything at all. If it weren’t for having to distract the Achievement Hunters he figured it would have taken weeks instead of months.

 He’d made the transition from lawyer to crime lord seamlessly. What should he do next? He didn’t want to touch politics; all that campaigning and bullshit only irritated him. Sales was always a safe option if he needed more money, but he had explored that to death. It wasn’t challenging when you met one on one with the decision maker.

 He could always leave the country and become a warlord. That thought made him chuckle and shake his head; learning another language would be too tedious.

 As for the Achievement Hunters; he would have his chance to toy with them soon. In fact he intended to use them as a means to set things straight and repair much of what had been broken. It wouldn’t be fair if he left the city as is.

 After that? He gave it thought. If there was some way to test the upward limit of how many people he could actively influence he would love to attempt it. The only issue was he could never think of a subtle way to do so. The very nature of his power required that he be the center of attention for those he wished to influence. Then he had to have them perform some sort of action they wouldn’t normally; with the threat of those not influenced realising what was going on.

 Up to eight people he was confident with. He could plant actions in people’s minds to be carried out any number of years later, but if they disappeared from his radar he had no way of confirming if the action had indeed been performed. It also couldn’t be something that the person may end up doing on their own anyway. That would be a false positive. The only way to know just what his limitations were would be to pull some ridiculous stunt in a crowded area and count how many were affected.

 He sighed. With crowds there was also the problem of people mimicking those who were legitimately under his control simply because they didn’t want to be the odd one out.

 Once more he looked down over the city before turning around to walk towards the small laptop and transmitter setup he had brought up onto the building with him. It was time to set the cleanup in motion. Step one was contacting the correct people.

 He opened the lid of the laptop and a sharp stabbing pain hit him in the side of the neck.

 With a yelp his hand flew to his neck and he pulled out a large dart. It had successfully delivered its payload.

 Ryan’s gut froze. This was fear. True unadulterated terror. What had been in the dart? Who had fired it? This was bad, very very bad.

 Whatever it was, it burned and felt as if it was going right to his head.

 Sharp stabbing pain erupted throughout his head causing him to double over.

 "Fuck!” He uttered and could feel his ability activate defensively. Of course it was a futile reflex and without a target or intention other than stopping the pain it did nothing.

 He tried to deactivate it but it seemed his body had gone into full survival mode and wouldn’t listen to him.

 The pain came in furious flashes all over his head. It was crippling and caused his vision to waver. What coherent thoughts he could piece together had him conclude that this was the work of Achievement Hunter. Anyone else would have used such a shot to kill him. This dart had been meant to disable; that much was clear.

 He was surprised just how angry that conclusion made him. He dared them to approach him right now; he would just _love_ to show them how helpless he really was. It took every ounce of his strength not to lash out at his surroundings.

 Soon his will to hold back broke and fueled by pain, anger, and fear he attacked the nearest object. His laptop was the unfortunate victim.

 Breathing heavily he looked at the shattered computer and clenched his fists. They wanted to fuck with him, huh?

 The pain subdued and he had a glorious idea. With a manic laugh and nothing holding him back he turned to look to the masses below.

 Not once through the ordeal did his power deactivate. His right eye was crimson and he was unable to shut it off. But he no longer had any intention of playing it subtle anymore, so he didn’t care that he had lost control of it.

 He’d never tested his limitations before, and now all of his reasoning seemed petty. This was the perfect opportunity, and he would use it to crush Achievement Hunter.

 Ryan walked to the edge and examined the people below. He closed his eyes and for the first time in his life he could feel the minds of those around him. Each was a dot of braille in the city’s story. A story which was now his to write.

 Lindsay stared at Ryan through her binoculars. Ray was next to her dismantling the dart gun.

 "Looks like he’s having a religious experience.“ She commented.

 "But does he look like he’s in pain still?” Kdin’s voice came over their earpieces, “It takes a few minutes for the serum to become effective and the only way we can tell if he’s safe to approach is when the symptoms of his body fighting it finally die down.” He spoke quickly.

 "Lindsay, Ray? You’re our eyes up there.“ Geoff wanted to hear what they saw. He and the rest of the team (with the exception of Kdin and Matt who were back in the lab) had set themselves up in every stairwell and by the elevators. They would not have Ryan slip by them.

 "Well, uh. He’s just standing there. By the edge and - OH GOD!” Ray exclaimed.

 "RYAN!“ Lindsay screeched.

 "He jumped! He fucking jumped!” Ray relayed.

 Michael was posted on the ground floor by the main entrance and he immediately ran outside. He wasn’t sure what he planned to do, but standing still wasn’t an option.

 He saw Ryan plummeting down only to begin to slow about fifty feet from the ground. By the time Ryan’s feet touched the sidewalk he had slowed almost to a stop.

 Michael was bewildered but a sudden movement caught his eye.

 At the edge of the road a young woman collapsed to her knees breathing heavily. Her nose was bleeding and her eyes were tightly screwed shut.

 Michael recognized her as a telekinetic psychic that Geoff had put on their watch list.

 The strain of stopping Ryan had been hard on the novice. Michael had a moment of conflict as to whether he should run and comfort her or pursue Ryan who was now walking into the middle of the crowd.

 "He’s fine!“ Michael reported but was careful not to be noticed by Ryan, "He used some poor psychic as a safety net.”

 "Follow him! We can’t lose him!“ Geoff’s voice cracked.

 Michael rushed forward and began weaving his way through the rioters, looters, and bystanders. Some he had to throw aside and others he ducked around. He couldn’t help but notice how the crowd parted around Ryan, giving him an unobstructed path.

 Half way down the street, Ryan finally stopped walking and turned around to look at those around him.

 Michael dodged out of Ryan’s line of sight but ensured he was still in a position to observe.

 "Michael, what’s going on down there?” Geoff asked.

 "He’s stopped moving forward. People are sort of just starting to stop what they’re doing and they’re looking at him? Also one of his eyes is all weird and red.“ Michael reported.

 "Get out of there!” Ray warned, “His eye does that when he’s controlling someone!”

 "Ray’s right, Michael. Get out of there before he sees you!“ Jack confirmed.

 "Wait!” Kdin insisted, “His power shouldn’t be active, but if it is, he won’t have conscious control of it.”

 Lindsay huffed, “Michael, don’t risk it!”

 Ryan extended his arms and everyone in the street halted what they were doing. Plunderers dropped their loot and wandered out towards him. People stopped throwing punches and objects.

 "You were nothing but pawns.“ Ryan spoke loudly and clearly, "And now you will be my subjects!”

 A murmur travelled through the group.

 "The Achievement Hunters went searching for a villain, and instead they have found a king!“ Ryan proclaimed.

 "ALL HAIL!” The crowd declared as one, and then every one of them dropped into a bow.

 "Michael what’s going on down there?“ Geoff was frantic.

 There was no response.

 "Geoff, it looks like they’re all bowing to him?” Ray informed him and turned to Lindsay for confirmation.

 Lindsay had put down her binoculars and was down on one knee.

 "Lindsay!“ Ray shouted in horror and grabbed her.

 She fought off his arms and remained in the bow, "Ray stop it.”

 "What the fuck are you doing?“ Ray was scared.

 "Playing the fuck along. He wants us to obey him? We obey.” She explained.

 Jack wasn’t going to argue and was more concerned with Michael, “Do we have a visual on Michael? Is he alright down there?”

 Ray turned back to look down into the street. It took him a few seconds to spot the uniform, “He looks fine. He is bowing too though.”

 "That’s hundreds of people down there, ain’t it?“ Gavin asked, "They can’t all be under his spell.”

 "This is the beginning of my reign!“ Ryan scanned the crowd and his eye caught on the bright green and black uniform. His expression became one of anger, "Michael.”

 Michael rose from his bow but kept his head down, “My liege.”

 Ryan’s scowl became a smile as Michael approached him and dropped down into a bow once again.

 "Rise.“ Ryan watched as Michael stood, "I’m glad we could find common ground.”

 Michael shrugged while making a noncommittal noise, “Figured I might as well help.”

~*~

 "Look, I love Gavin. He’s my boi. But he’s an idiot.“ Michael confessed to Ryan.

They were holed up in the back room of a store getting prepared for what was to come next.

 "He’s powerful.” Ryan commented.

 "But he’s a fucking moron. He won’t be creating any next level tactics to mess with us. Like don’t get me wrong, he’s great at some things, but in general, strategy isn’t one of them.

 He’s a total glass cannon. Hits hard but can’t take a hit. I mean; assuming you can hit him. He’s flighty and will disappear quicker than should be humanly possible. It’s like another superpower.“ Michael stood and walked over to a small stash of beers and energy drinks he had taken from the convenience store next door.

 He grabbed a beer and continued, "Now Geoff is interesting. I call him a booze-bender, but any alcohol works. Menthol, ethanol, butanol, whatever. Seems stupidly specific but if there’s pretty much any liquid that ends in 'ol’ he’s got power over it.” He popped off the cap of the beer.

 "So you’re drinking alcohol right before fighting him?“ Ryan pointed out.

 Michael looked at the beer, "One beer will go through me quick. Don’t worry about it.” He took a swig and continued, “At first it seems kinda useless, but in a city you’re never more than a block away from the house of a drinker, a restaurant, grocery store, convenience store, gas station, even pharmacy. Plus, if he knows he won’t have access to any, he’ll just bring some.

 He’s pretty lethal with it too. Can use it defensively or offensively. Choke people, throw things around…” Michael waved his hand and took another drink.

 "Now Jack; he’s our heavy hitter.“ Michael began, "Thing is: he’s a giant puppy. Just because you can rip a guy’s spine clear from the body, doesn’t mean you’re actually ever gonna do that.

 You want an example? He once threw a car and it ended up going through the front of a bakery. Not only did Jack pay for the car, the next day he was in the bakery with nails and a hammer. Not his hammer, mind you, a regular small one.

 We like to call him Thor (or Beardo) 'cause of the hammer and beard combo.

 His shield is also as much a weapon as the hammer since he can put so much strength into each blow. But honestly, against someone like you, he’ll be too scared to actually land a hit. You don’t have the - uh - fortitude to survive a whack from him.”

 Ryan didn’t argue, “So what will he be doing?”

 Michael appeared to think it over, “Probably back up for Geoff. If not, then his job will be to take me down.”

 Ryan nodded.

 "I’m not worried. I’m going to be more likely to hurt them than they are me.“ Michael added and then moved on to the next member of Achievement Hunter, "Ray’s interesting because he’s more useful observing than actually fighting. He’s got the heat vision and it’s cool, but it’s pretty lethal. Along those lines he’s also the best marksman with most weapons, but we aren’t the kind of group to gun people down.

 Since we all have earpieces he’s really useful at telling us all whether someone is armed or hiding something, or like the layout of a building.

 I’m pretty sure he sees everyone as naked pretty much all the time. You literally can’t hide anything from him.”

 "And how does Lindsay’s power work?“ Ryan prompted.

 "She’s your typical beast master. Making animals obey her will. Basically what you do with people, but apparently the animals have the option not to obey if they want to.

 We are in a city though. So her selection of woodland friends is limited to strays, rats, birds, and maybe a raccoon or skunk. Nothing big.

 She is however pretty protective and won’t be happy with me on your side. Hell, I know I’d be pissed. So hopefully you don’t end up with the plague after this.

 I do assume they won’t want her on the front lines, but she’ll fight you anyway. It’s just how she is.”

 "I’ll bring mousetraps.“ Ryan joked.

 "Also some sort of bird protection. Like being inside would help… or a football helmet.” Michael informed him.

 "Then I’ll need you to keep her and her friends off me.“ Ryan stated.

 Michael nodded, "Will do.”

 "What about B-team? Will they make an appearance?“ Ryan asked.

 "See, I’m going to bet they are, but Geoff is seriously worried about you getting to them since they can throw around some serious mojo. So maybe they will be out behind the main group.

 Jeremy actually needs physical contact for his power stealing to work, so…” Michael shrugged, “But Kdin and Matt can fight from a distance.

 Matt has his projections or holograms or whatever you want to call them. But what makes him tricky is that if he really focuses on a projection he can make it semi-solid. Not enough to land a punch or lift you, but enough to mess with the environment. Also he can create those things pretty much anywhere. If they aren’t in his direct line of sight they’ll end up clipping through walls and objects but it’s based more on spatial awareness than vision.

 Now Fügz,”

 Ryan gave him a quizzical look, “Who?”

 Michael shook his head and smiled, “Sorry. Kdin. We call him Fügz, and kinda like to blame him when things go wrong. Yeah, he’s a real special case.

 Can summon purple fire, which acts exactly like regular fire but purple. Has full control over it and it doesn’t harm him, yet normal fire will. He has no control over fire he wasn’t the one to summon.

 Also teleports. Not massive distances, and generally he avoids it when he can. Not that I blame him - I mean if even half of what he says is true, I’d probably never use that ability again.

 As for him physically-”

 "What happens when he teleports?“ Ryan’s curiosity had been peaked. He leaned forward eager to hear the explanation.

 Michael gave a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his head, "Uh, well, the way he explains it is that the spilt second where he’s neither here or there, he is indeed somewhere. And that 'somewhere’ is freaky as fuck.

 Like it’s only for a fraction of a second but he said he’s in some sort of dimension where the ground is this porous cream coloured rock, and the sky is black static. There’s these black spires and worst of all there’s 'people’. Vaguely humanoid shadows that are all elongated with bright glowing eyes.

 Says that at first they were always on the horizon, but then they started getting closer, until one time one noticed him looking at it and came charging right at him. He won’t teleport without a weapon since. Apparently the noise it made as it ran at him was a horrible gurgling screech.”

 Ryan looked disturbed, “What the fuck?”

 "Yeah, it’s not great. It also makes the question of just WHAT he is that much more difficult. Like is he a host for some sort of extra dimensional being or not human in the first place? Doesn’t help that the more he exerts himself the less human he looks. I mean, I get that too, but at least I’m not being attacked by shadow people and seeing other dimensions.“ Michael added.

 "He can’t summon or control these shadow beings can he?” Ryan wanted to make sure.

 "No.“ Michael answered.

 Ryan nodded and stood. Michael hadn’t told him much that he hadn’t known already, but he had still been insightful. He rubbed his eye. His power had yet to deactivate since the dart and his eye was paying the price. It had begun to ache and was only getting worse.

 It was unfortunate that Michael had only a rudimentary understanding of what they had injected him with.

 "Eye bugging you?” Michael noticed as he finished his beer.

 "Don’t worry about it.“ Ryan dismissed.

 "I’m going to worry about it, because if your mind control suddenly halts we’re going to have a lot of angry and confused people to deal with on top of everything else!” Michael pointed out.

 Ryan couldn’t help but snicker. Michael would be among the angry masses, and probably one of his biggest problems.

 "You think I’m not serious? No amount of crazy will save you then.“ Michael argued.

 "I’ll admit I may not be a paragon of morality but I have always been sane. It’s whatever you guys did to me that’s causing this!” Ryan’s anger flared anew, “I’ve always been in control! Fully aware of my actions!” He turned on Michael, “But now you lot had to fuck it up didn’t you?!”

 Michael backed up and put his hands between himself and Ryan. He bit his tongue not wanting to provoke Ryan further. It was very clear that he wasn’t in control any longer.

 "I was done! Ready to clean up this fucking mess and move on! Now look at me!

 They want madness? Then I will ensure they get it. It’s not like I have a choice in the matter anyway!

 You think I would ever choose to act like this? To do what I’m about to do?“ Ryan was absolutely livid.

 "Well some part of you must want to or -” Michael only had a basic understanding of what was going on in Ryan’s head, but knew that the conscious conversational Ryan no longer had even the slightest influence on what his power was doing. Some dark part of him somewhere was now in control, and it was acting out based on some sort of emotional want or need. It was far too elaborate to just be survival.

 It was like trying to placate two different people: one whose bark was worse than his bite and the other who would have you choking on your own innards because you looked at him wrong.

 "Want? There’s a huge difference between what you feel you might want and what you actually want.“ Ryan was frustrated at his own inarticulate answer, "Gah! Just because you crave something sweet doesn’t mean you’re going to beat up the first baby you see for its candy! But that’s exactly the state this stupid serum has put me in, _and I can’t stop it!”_

 Michael wanted to retort that if the serum could be overpowered through sheer will it wouldn’t be a good ability suppressor now would it? Also what kind of freak was he that his power defaulted to an active state, and not just that, a state of controlling everyone in as large a radius as possible? There were survival instincts and then there was this shit show.

 If it had been Michael? Assuming he was in Ryan’s position and his body went into full offensive survival mode? Michael knew it would be a blood bath. Him fully feral with the mentality of a wounded and cornered animal would be a bad combination. It would create a werewolf-like situation with him unable to trust his own body.

 One quick unexpected movement, one threatening glance, or something stupid like a startling noise would have his power kick in and he’d shred whatever source of 'threat’ there was. Whether the source be human, machine, animal, or anything else.

 Thankfully, Michael had learned to control the beast side of himself early in life, and even with the occasional slip up it would never come close to the “bite first and tear their throat out second” mentality the serum would surely induce.

   Ryan stormed from the room, slamming the door shut as he left.

 That snapped Michael’s brain out of its hypothetical train of thought and back to the present. It was no time to let Ryan run around unsupervised.

 He grabbed a Red Bull from his stash and rushed out after Ryan.

~*~

 "Anyone else seriously scared right now?“ Ray muttered and avoided looking to the growing group of people following him.

 Gavin was with Ray and was hugging himself tightly, "I don’t like this at all. They’re bloody creepy just following us. Why? Why are they just following us?!” He was beginning to get hysterical.

 They were walking down the street, weaving between abandoned cars, and the crowd following them only grew with each person they passed. Geoff had told them that a large crowd of people had gathered in a small memorial park just outside of downtown, and that this was the best place to begin their search. They had been ordered to split up and approach from different angles with the hope of surrounding Ryan and Michael. Turned out that they were only getting surrounded themselves.

 Geoff and Jack were in a similar situation but Geoff was actively using the contents of a liquor store to keep the crowd a comfortable distance away.

 Ray and Gavin didn’t have that luxury, and were afraid that if they stopped moving forward to keep the few feet of personal space they had remaining they would only get surrounded.

 "Gavin, maybe start a fire or something? Get them to back the fuck off a bit?“ Ray whispered to Gavin.

 "I’m not a pyromancer; I can make fire but only as part of something exploding. I’m not going to do that. The other option is electrocuting people and I’m not about to do that either!” Gavin gave a quick look at the crowd, “What if I gave grandma over there a heart attack, or killed her pacemaker?”

 Ray looked to the elderly woman keeping pace with them, “Nana no.” He gave half a smile in an effort to lighten the mood.

 "I’m not going to use my powers on these people. If you want to set Nana on fire with your heat vision go right ahead.“ Gavin was in quite the agitated state.

 "Don’t set Nana on fire.” Geoff ordered over their headsets as he overheard the conversation.

 "These people are innocent and we have to avoid hurting them.“ Jack explained.

 Kdin was quick to respond over the com, “Well technically they aren’t. They are guilty of their actions it’s just not their choice due to the mind control. Sort of a legal grey area.”

 “Shut the fuck up and work on fixing your serum!” Geoff hollered back and made everyone wince.

 Kdin and Lindsay were in the lab working on the serum with Caleb, trying to find out what had gone wrong and why Ryan’s body had reacted the way it did.

 “I told you it was risky!” Kdin argued.

 “Kdin shut up and help me with these cultures.” Caleb ordered before Geoff had a chance to retort and start a yelling match.

 Geoff grumbled but didn’t continue the argument. He and Jack were nearing the small park and could see the large crowd gathered there. People seemed to be just milling about and chatting idly with one another. It was a stark contrast to the silent followers they had gathered while walking.

 Jack and Geoff exchanged looks. Should they just walk right up to the crowd?

 “I can stay close to you while you keep them back with the alcohol. If anyone gets close I can keep them off you.” Jack proposed.

 “So far they haven’t been aggressive, so I say we stay alert but avoid plowing our way through.” Geoff responded.

 Jack nodded, “Alright. I’ll lead the way; you keep an eye out on our zombie posse.”

 They continued forward and it wasn’t long until a member of the crowd noticed them.

 The woman who spotted them gave a shout and pointed. Soon the whole crowd was looking towards them and their conversations stopped. The sudden silence in the presence of so many people was deeply unsettling. There were thousands of pairs of eyes looking at them without emotion.

 Jack and Geoff slowed their pace cautiously but continued to move forward. As they neared, the crowd began to part around them, eventually enveloping the two of them. The group that had followed them merged seamlessly into the larger crowd and all eyes were on the two Achievement Hunters as they pushed forward.

 Geoff was reminded of a gif he had seen of a shark swimming through a school of fish. Everyone kept an equal distance from him and Jack. They were treating the two of them as a threat best avoided, and would not allow them to leave their sight.

 Gavin and Ray made their approach from the opposite direction, but the crowd reacted in the same fashion.

 Gavin appeared to be on the verge of a mental breakdown while Ray could do nothing but stare at the ground. So many quiet judgmental eyes watching them felt like a great oppressive weight. Ray wasn’t the most social person and wasn’t sure how to react beyond nervously clearing his throat every so often.

 Gavin loved being the center of attention, but not like this. This was just creepy.

 “Uh, Hello?” Gavin gave a weak wave and nervously smiled at the crowd.

 That sent a murmur through them, and people turned to look at each other.

 Ray coughed, “X-Ray and Vav, here to save the day.” He pumped his fist and made a deflated “Woo!”

 “GAVIN!” A shout came from somewhere in front of them.

 Gavin immediately perked up, that was Michael’s voice, “Ray that’s Michael! MICHAEL!” He turned and hit Ray on the arm, “Can you see him?!”

 Ray squinted, “Dude it’s all just bodies, I can’t – Michael!”

 Michael pushed his way through the crowd towards them. He apologised profusely as he pushed people aside. Some noticed him and moved out of the way but most didn’t move fast enough and ended up shoved.

 Michael tripped his way into the clearing, but saved himself from falling at the last second.

 “Michael!” Gavin exclaimed and rushed forward to greet him. A hard grip on his arm stopped him. Ray was holding him back with a concerned look.

 “Ray?” Gavin’s expression became worried.

 “We’re dealing with mind control, remember?” Ray nodded towards Michael and let go of Gavin.

 “How you doing, Boi?” Michael greeted with a smile.

 “Michael, are you alright?” Gavin was now cautious.

 Michael shrugged and looked around, “Been better. I’m assuming you two are here because of this.” He gestured to the crowd.

 Now that Michael was engaging with the two of them the crowd seemingly lost interest and began to wander away.

 “What’s he planning?” Ray got right to the point.

 Michael chuckled, “Nah man. He’s just pissed and wants you to pay for the whole dart thing.”

 Ray narrowed his eyes in suspicion, “They why are you here?”

 “To keep you busy while he takes out Geoff. Obviously.” Michael smiled deviously.

 Gavin stepped back, “Meaning?”

 Ray stepped forward, “You know what it means.”

 Michael cocked his head and looked at Ray, “We can just stand here and talk, if you want. I’m just assuming you won’t sit by and wait knowing that this is what Ryan wants.” He shrugged, “Geoff can handle himself, I’m sure.”

 “Michael, snap out of it.” Gavin urged, “You don’t know what he’s going to do to Geoff. This guy is clearly mental. I mean just look at what he’s done! He’s destroyed the city!”

 “Someone like that doesn’t just stop.” Ray added.

 “Well, funny thing is-” Michael was about to argue but decided it wasn’t worth the discussion, “Look, he’s not in control right now. Whatever this is, it isn’t exactly a choice.”

 “All the more reason to stop him!” Ray shouted.

 “Kdin said the serum would wear out in a day or two, right? So just wait.” Michael proposed.

 “Oh great, the crazy’s contagious.” Ray put his hands up.

 Gavin hardened his expression and stepped forward, “Michael, we’re going to help Geoff take down Ryan.”

 “No. You’re not.” Michael stepped forward as well.

 “It’s two against one. You can’t win this.” Ray stated.

 “Don’t tell me you’re scared,” Michael smiled and stared Gavin in the eye, “Boi.”

 With a loud crack the ground beneath Michael exploded upwards, throwing him to the ground.

 “Run!” Gavin shouted to Ray and began to sprint towards the crowd.

 “What?” Ray’s ears were ringing but he noticed Gavin making a run for it so he immediately followed.

 The explosion had doubled as a smokescreen.

 As they ran they heard a loud roar behind them followed by an enraged holler of, “GAVIN!”

 

 Jack and Geoff looked up at the loud bang and knew it was Gavin’s handiwork.

 Geoff immediately began to transmit, “Gavin! Civilians!”

 He was answered by a shriek from Gavin and loud unintelligible yelling from Ray.

 “Fuck.” Geoff spat. He turned to Jack only to find him pushing his way through the crowd towards the commotion.

 “Jack!” Geoff exclaimed and all the alcohol he had suspended around them dropped. He swore at his lapse in focus but began throwing people aside to follow Jack.

 He pushed his way through a parking lot and into the park itself. He could see the towering memorial at the center of the small greenspace over the heads of the crowd. It was a rectangular piece built of white marble and bronze.

 Geoff finally made his way to the memorial and broke out of the crowd. They seemed to be keeping a nice distance from the marble and bronze monstrosity.

 Sitting on the steps at the base of the memorial was Ryan. On his head sat a cruelly spiked crown. Across his shoulder a red tartan sash was draped. It matched his kilt.

 Geoff barely had time to comprehend what he was looking at when a sudden movement coming towards him forced him to dodge.

 Panting he looked over to see Jack readying his arm for another punch. Now knowing what he was dealing with, Geoff dodged the second swing more gracefully.

 “Jack! What the fuck?!” Geoff sputtered, but knew exactly what was happening.

  “If you just let me hit you properly-” Jack responded.

 “Fuck no!” Geoff shouted and quickly distanced himself while ensuring not to look towards Ryan.

 Ryan stood while laughing.

 Geoff threw up his middle finger in Ryan’s direction, “You shut the fuck up!”

 Ryan only continued laughing. He began making his way down the marble steps towards the two of them.

 Once at the base of the steps Ryan’s expression became grim, “You’re going to pay for what you’ve done, and you’re going to pay in _blood_.”  

 Geoff watched in horror as Jack unholstered his hammer and prepared his shield while staring him down. What scared him the most was the absolute look of determination on Jack’s face. It told him there would be no reasoning with him.

 With a quick flick of his wrist he called the spilled alcohol from earlier towards him. Unfortunately most of it had drained away but he was still left with just over a gallon.

 The alcohol reached him just as Jack charged and Geoff was able to whip it outwards to push Jack’s legs up from under him.

 Jack crashed down onto the concrete. Hard. Winded and hurt Jack took a second to compose himself before attempting to stand.

 Geoff used the moment to blindly whip the alcohol towards Ryan.

 Ryan’s eyes widened as he realised what Geoff was about to do.

 “ _Don’t!”_ He ordered, but it had no effect as Geoff still followed through on the action. The serum may have sent his powers into survival overdrive but not having conscious control of them meant that none of his verbal commands would work.

 He braced for the impact of the liquid, but it seemed that his survival side wasn’t about to ignore a threat.

 A group broke off of the crowd and sprinted; throwing themselves in front of him protectively. The liquid hit with enough force to knock half of them down, but Ryan was left dry and on his feet.

 Geoff spun around to see what had transpired. His shocked expression was mirrored by Ryan, who then quickly looked up at Geoff.

 Seeing Ryan’s dichromatic gaze, Geoff knew he had made a mistake.

 This fight was between him and Jack now. Ryan be damned.

 Jack had gotten himself upright and swung his hammer around readying himself for the next strike.

 Ryan was pleased that Geoff was now no longer a threat but still felt wildly uncomfortable that his defense now included civilians taking hits for him. In fact they now refused to leave his side, and a few more had joined the small “guard” staying near him regardless of how many times he told them to leave.

 He wanted the Achievement Hunters to destroy themselves, not kill innocent bystanders. But it didn’t look like he really had a choice. Ryan would have to hope that these “Guardians of the City” cared enough about preventing collateral that they would reign in their powers while fighting.

 Geoff immediately began trying to blind Jack by aiming the alcoholic mixture at his face. It was a vile mix of different drinks, sand, and pieces of glass.

 Jack was quick to switch to the defensive. He pulled his shield around and began deflecting the liquid each time it came at him.

 This quickly became a stalemate, with Geoff effectively remaining out of arms’ reach and Jack successfully negating each blow.

 Ryan frowned as he watched Geoff’s futile efforts at getting around Jack’s defense. This wasn’t going anywhere. Eventually one of them would tire though, and Ryan’s money was on Geoff who appeared to be exerting himself far more than Jack.

 Ryan walked back to the base of the memorial and stepped up for a slightly better vantage point. His devoted little guard was sure to stick close. He wondered if there was more excitement happening on Michael’s end.

 Gavin screeched as five four inch long claws raked his back, tearing through his uniform.

 “Gavin!” Ray cried in concern and immediately sent a quick burst of heat vision towards the clawed arm.

 Michael recoiled with a roar. He cradled the hand Ray had burned. His claws retracted and his canines returned to normal, “That the best you got?” He snarled.

 Gavin turned and threw a punch towards Michael.

 Michael caught it and was going to return the blow but Ray jumped him, pushing him down onto the ground.

 Gavin immediately joined Ray and the two of them pinned Michael down.

 Michael laughed, “Really? You think you two feather-weights can hold me?”

 “That’s not the point!” Ray could feel the bone structure in Michael’s forearm shifting.

 “Micoo, please, just calm down. You’re my boi, this isn’t you.” Gavin pleaded. He could feel his blood running down his back from the deep gashes.

 “Like hell it ain’t! This is just an excuse to finally shred you to pieces!” Michael growled. The bones in his arms grew thinker and large black claws sprouted from his fingers. Both his lower and upper canines grew in size until his lips could no longer fully close over them.

 Michael threw both of them off of him as if they weighed nothing.  He stood and looked at his two friends hurrying to regain their footing.

 Ray helped Gavin back up and sent a few quick heat vision blasts at Michael to stop him from charging them.

 The biting pain only made Michael angry. He defensively covered his face with one arm and began to make his way towards them.

 Ray refused to use stronger blasts for fear of igniting Michael, and was horrified that he wasn’t acting as enough of a deterrent.

 Gavin curled his hands into fists and stepped in front of Ray.

 The sudden cessation of burns made Michael lower his arm and he saw Gavin’s determined stance, “What you gonna do boi? Make another smokescreen? Throw some rocks my way? I know you won’t hurt me, so drop the act-”

 With a loud explosion Gavin flung himself forwards at Michael. Electricity enveloped his arms as he grabbed Michael by the shoulders.

 Michael dropped to the ground convulsing as the current travelled through his body.

 “Christ Gavin.” Ray exclaimed and ran forward to inspect Michael.

 Gavin’s voice trembled, but he worked to keep it steady, “He’ll be fine. You go on and get this monster. Stop him, and I’ll keep Michael down.”

 “Gavin, I can’t fight this guy alone. What am I supposed to do? Burn a hole clean through him? Set the crowd on fire?” Ray protested.

 Gavin looked down at the dazed Michael slowly coming to. He took a deep breath, “I’m sorry boi.” He whispered before sending an increased current through his body.

 Michael couldn’t even scream. The electricity caused all his muscles to painfully tense up and lock in place as his vision faded to black.

 When Gavin let go, Michael fell limp and unconscious.

 “He’ll be ok right?” Ray had been frightened by the display.

 Gavin sniffed and wiped his nose on the back of his hand, “Yeah. But he’ll be in a lot of pain when he wakes. Too much pain to move proper, and definitely too much to fight.” He reached a hand around to gently poke at one of the gashes on his back. He winced and looked back to Ray, “Let’s kick this bastard’s ass.”

 

 Jack could see Geoff’s actions growing sloppy. Each strike grew less accurate and Jack was finding it easier to predict his actions. He shifted his grip on his hammer and waited to intercept the next blow with his shield. When the liquid collided with his shield once again he threw the liquor aside and heaved his hammer forward towards Geoff.

 Geoff realized too late that Jack was tossing his hammer at him. He wasn’t left with enough time for a clean dodge.

 The hammer hit Geoff in the hip, shattering bone instantly. The inertia was enough to spin him clean around as he fell.

 He screamed in pain and hovered his hands over his hip. The pain was blinding, and looking up he saw Ryan walk over to Jack’s side.

 “Nice throw, Jack.” Ryan put his hand on Jack’s shoulder.

 Jack grunted and shrugged off Ryan’s hand. He walked over and picked up his hammer once again.

 “This’ll be quick.” He informed Geoff as he stood over him.

 “Fucking do it!” Geoff spat.

 Jack put away his shield and lifted the hammer over his head.

 Ryan watched on fascinated, eager to see if he would follow through.

 Jack suddenly yelped and dropped his hammer grabbing at his hands.

 Geoff shouted in pain as the hammer fell onto his left leg. Nothing broke but it was an unwelcome addition to his pain filled state.

 Ryan whipped around to see Ray emerge from behind the memorial closely followed by Gavin.

 Ray pushed Gavin back behind the memorial before he could have a chance to meet Ryan’s gaze.

 “Now what?” Gavin whispered, “If we can’t look at ‘im how are we supposed to fight?”

 Ryan smiled and cautiously approached the memorial, “Afraid to come out and look me in the eye?”

 Jack flexed his burnt hands before picking up his hammer again. Geoff was no longer a threat, but Gavin and Ray were.

 “Do you think you can zap Jack like you did Michael?” Ray attempted to create a plan.

 “Do you honestly think I could even get that close to him??? He’s at least twice the size of Michael!” Gavin responded.

 “What if I keep burning him, would it be enough of a distraction?” Ray suggested.

 Gavin nodded, “Maybe.” then asked, "Do you think you can give him the run around?”

 "I have to try, don’t I?“ Ray responded.

 Both of them jumped as Jack rounded the edge of the memorial, swinging his hammer down towards their feet.

 The two of them cursed, not having expected Jack to directly hunt them down.

 With a bang Gavin disappeared, leaving Ray covered in dust and backing away from Jack.

 "Hey, buddy, pal, friend…” Ray gave a nervous smile as he backed away from Jack.

 Jack showed him the angry red marks on his hands, “That really stung. Caught me by surprise.”

 "Heh, yeah, sorry. I’ll get you some ice, or something.“ Ray spoke gently.

 Jack adjusted his grip on the hammer and brought his shield around once again.

 "We can talk about it maybe? Just sit down and shoot the shit?” Ray had his hands up and was working to slowly distance himself.

 Jack gave a half smile before lowering his shoulder and charging forward.

 

 Gavin barely stuck his landing and stumbled forward until he regained his balance. Explosively launching himself was a quick way to travel, but it was also a great way to break bones.

 He saw Geoff down on the ground and bleeding.

 "Bloody Hell! Geoff are you alright?!“ Gavin rushed over to his side.

 "Fuck off Gavin!” Geoff growled and weakly tried to push him away.

 "You need to get to a hospital, you need help!“ He activated his headset, "Caleb!”

 Geoff swung his good leg around and managed to catch Gavin in the side of the head, “I said piss off you British prick!”

 "Geoff!“ Gavin exclaimed hurt both physically and emotionally.

 "If he could stand he’d punch you in the throat.” Ryan stated.

 Gavin could feel Ryan standing behind him but knew that to look was to fall under his control.

 "If he gets close enough I’ll gladly punch him in the throat right now!“ Geoff shouted.

 Gavin stood, making sure to keep his back to Ryan, "You’re mental, you know that?”

 "Yeah?“ Ryan chuckled, "I can agree with that.”

 Gavin could feel Ryan move closer and tensed. Static crackled up his arms defensively.

 Ryan backed up cautiously, with a laugh, “Calm down there, Sparky.”

 The electrical charge only increased in power. First it arced between Gavin’s fingers then large bolts shot downward into the ground. Each made a loud crack as it struck.

 "We can talk this out. We’re both adults here.“ Ryan continued to back away. All he needed was for Gavin to turn around. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a throwing knife. Bouncing it in his hand he tested the weight, "I mean, I see why you might be scared, but a simple conversation can’t hurt, right?”

 Geoff scoffed, and that made Gavin ball his hands into fists. The bolts ceased.

 "You want to talk, mate?“ Gavin said through clenched teeth, "I have a few choice words for ya!” He spun around with eyes shut and slammed his hands on the ground.

 The concrete and soil exploded upwards and travelled out in a shock wave towards Ryan.

 Ryan had been anticipating a move from Gavin and was ready. He threw the knife towards him with deadly accuracy, but dodging the explosion was another thing entirely.

 Gavin shrieked as the dagger hit him right in the sternum, burying itself in cartilage.

 

Ray shouted as Jack managed to sweep his legs out from under him.

He fell to the ground and saw the hammer coming down on top of him. There was no time to recover, and as he hit concrete he could already feel the hammer striking him in the chest.

Ribs cracked and Ray screamed. A second passed and then another, and another.

Ray opened his eyes surprised that he was still alive. Jack’s hammer was still on his chest, but wasn’t moving any further.

Ray knew he should be no more than a wet paste by this point.

Seeing Jack’s face, he realized that Jack was indeed trying to complete the blow but was struggling to do so.

“Ray! Are you alive?”

Ray whipped his head around, groaning in pain, to see Jeremy holding tightly onto the head of Jack’s hammer.

Ray uttered a hoarse gurgle in response.

“Just hold on, okay?” Jeremy urged and started to lift the hammer up and away from Ray.

 

 Ryan had been thrown clean off of his feet landing back down on the torn up ground. His shoulder hit first with a loud snap, and Ryan yelled out in pain.

 Ryan’s small devoted guard had also been hit by the shockwave and struggled back up onto their feet. Their distress brought more members of the crowd forward to surround him.

 Gavin tried to keep his eyes shut as he felt several pairs of hands grabbing at him while he blindly hit them away. It was futile without vison so he opened his eyes to see civilians crowding around him and attempting to subdue him.

 There was far too many hands to hit away and Gavin had to resort firing off electric bolts to scare them enough so that he could have room to breathe.

 "Get the fuck off me!“ Gavin heard Ryan bellow and could see that he had his own crowd to worry about.

 Ryan swatted away the hands of those looking to aid him. Thankfully his right arm was uninjured and he used it to shove those who wouldn’t move aside.

 Gavin watched as the crowd overpowered Ryan and two individuals grabbed his injured shoulder.

 Ryan screamed as there was another loud crack from his shoulder and then the crowd backed off.

 He cradled his left arm before testing its range of motion. It hadn’t been broken, just dislocated.

 "Warn me next time!” Ryan was out of breath, and trying to calm himself down.

 Gavin watched as Ryan looked over to the right of him.

 Following his gaze he was surprised to see an exact copy of himself, down to the gashes on his back, standing where Ryan was looking.

 The crowd around Gavin appeared confused and backed off, unsure of what to do, but a small group of individuals remained. They stood between Gavin and Ryan, hiding Gavin from sight as Ryan focused on the fake.

 Gavin smiled and immediately scanned the crowd to see Matt wearing baggy clothes and standing among them. He was doing his best to blend in, and by following the movements of the crowd he had remained unnoticed.

 The two of them exchanged a nod, and Gavin took the opportunity to move behind Ryan with the fake crowd moving appropriately to block him from view.

 Tenderly putting his hand on the blade in the middle of his chest he did his best to move silently. The impact of every footfall sent spikes of pain through his body. Thanks to Ray, he knew better than to remove it. Any foreign object used to stab someone acted like a cork. To remove it, regardless of how painful its presence was, was to risk losing blood and entering shock.

 Ryan pulled out another throwing knife and focused on fake Gavin.

 "You really think you can fight me with your eyes closed?“ Ryan goaded.

 Unable to speak, fake Gavin remained silent, but his expression changed to one of determination.

 Ryan threw his blade towards the fake Gavin who dodged it quite artfully. With his eyes never opening, nonetheless.

 Immediately suspicious, Ryan was quick to grab another knife and ready himself for a second throw.

 Gavin saw this as his chance to strike. Grabbing a chunk of overturned concrete he jumped Ryan from behind.

 Ryan had no time to react as the rock struck the back of his head and the world went black.

~*~

 "I have him sedated for now, but I can’t keep him under forever.” Caleb informed Geoff.

 They stood outside the treatment room in the Tower of Pimps, looking in through the large glass window.

 Geoff shifted his weight on his crutches with a grunt.

 Caleb looked to him, “Sorry I couldn’t do more for you, but at least you won’t be in a wheelchair for the next few months. Between the six of you, I had to prioritize; with Ray’s left lung impersonating swiss cheese, and Gavin with a knife in his chest, your hip had to wait in line.”

 "I don’t blame you. You can only use so much of your healing ability without completely draining yourself.“ Geoff’s gaze didn’t leave the hospital bed on the other side of the window.

 Ryan lay unconscious in the bed. His left arm was in a sling, but otherwise he seemed unharmed.

 "What’s his state?” Geoff nodded towards Ryan.

 "Recovering from the concussion. Some burst blood vessels in his right eye. The swelling in his shoulder is going down. Basically he’s fine, and better off than most of you.“ Caleb reported.

 "Fucker.” Geoff muttered and leaned up against the wall, “What about the mind control? Is that over?”

 "You can answer that as well as I can. Assuming that the mess outside is any clue, I’d say he no longer holds influence over the crowds at least.“ Caleb shrugged, "What I can tell you is that the serum is clear out of his system. Which means he should regain conscious control of his powers again.”

 "Should?“ Geoff cocked his head.

 "Well at this point he probably won’t be doing anything until the sedatives are out of him. I can have him up in the next half hour or so, but he’ll be pretty out of it for a couple hours. It won’t be until after that that we’ll be able to test just what he can and can’t do.” Caleb explained.

 "Test? Please tell me you’re kidding. We let him talk to any one of us and he’s a free man. Lindsay told me he can even control people over the phone; so simply using surveillance isn’t an option either. You can’t communicate safely with this guy.“ Geoff groaned.

 Caleb nodded, "We need someone expendable to communicate on our behalf.”

~*~

 Ryan moaned and opened his eyes just enough to perceive that he was surrounded by the colour blue. He tried lifting his head and world spun.

 He quickly turned his head to the side and grabbed the nearest object, puking up bile into it.

 The small pan was taken away and a cup of water with a straw was pushed towards him.

 Ryan waited until the spinning slowed before grabbing it.

 He looked up, “Kerry?”

 Kerry gave a quick smile, “Yeah, they figure I’m the only one who can talk to you.” He sat back down in a chair he had pulled up to the bed.

 Ryan looked around. A blue curtain surrounded the two of them, blocking much from view, but through a gap he saw more medical equipment.

 "Where are we?“ Ryan mumbled; it was difficult to speak.

 "The medical wing of AH Labs - I mean, I think they call it that. We’re in the Tower of Pimps.” Kerry explained.

 "Great.“ Ryan groaned and tried to stretch. Sudden pain in his shoulder stopped him.

 "Yeah, it’s uh, it’s not the best situation, but honestly with neither of us dead; I think it turned out better than expected.” Kerry reasoned.

 "They missed an opportunity.“ Ryan smiled, but was glad that the whole ordeal was over. He had enjoyed that as much as anyone else.

 "It’s not how they roll, apparently. Not gonna blame 'em; they start killing people and they’re no longer the heroes.” Kerry waved his hand around, “How are you feeling anyway?”

 "Dizzy, nauseous, tired, and everything hurts.“ Ryan listed off, "Do you know what they plan to do?”

 "I honestly don’t. I assume I’m going to court, this time as a defendant. I’ll be able to talk the charges down; you use mind control and they can’t prove I did anything willingly. Figure the worst I’ll get is community service, if that.“ Kerry thought out loud.

 "Good. There’s no precedent, so you’ll be able to argue whatever you need to. Get working on your sob story.” Ryan smiled.

 Kerry chuckled, “Yeah, that Ryan Haywood, took advantage of little old me. Terrible man, I’d never help him willingly.”

 Ryan laughed.

 "The real question is what will be done with you. You can’t exactly hold a fair trial, or at least a trial that people could objectively prove was free of your meddling.“ Kerry stated.

 "Sedate me and lock me in a soundproof box.” Ryan sighed.

 "Someone would have to check that you were alive at some point. Not to mention feeding you would require some sort of interaction.“ Kerry pointed out.

 "I’m sure they’ll figure it out.” Ryan looked at the IV in his arm, “But one mistake and I’ll be free.”

 Kerry laughed, “That’s what I’m talking about; no one in their right mind would risk it.”

 "If they thought injecting me with their mystery serum was a good idea; I’m not going to set my expectations too high.“ Ryan explained, and just because he was sure they were listening, "They can go fuck themselves.”

 Kerry smiled knowing that anyone from Achievement Hunter listening in would suddenly start wondering whether that was a command or not. They would be questioning every such order that came from Ryan, and he knew Ryan would fully take advantage of it. If there was anything he was good at, it was messing with people’s heads.

 Kerry leaned in and lowered his voice, “How is your mind control holding up? Your eye looks pretty bad.”

 Ryan exhaled, “Right now I have no clue. I just know my eye and head hurt, so I’m not about to strain anything any further. In other words if they want to talk to me directly instead of just listening to us, now’s the time to do it.”

 Kerry scoffed, “Like they’ll trust you anyway.”

 "What do you know?“ Geoff pulled the curtain aside and hobbled over closer to the bed.

 Kerry jumped, not having noticed Geoff enter the room.

 "Surprised to see you on your feet. I was sure Jack had hit you harder than that.” Ryan said in lieu of a greeting.

 "Suck a dick.“ Geoff retorted. He turned to Kerry and gestured for him to leave.

 Kerry was hesitant but nodded and left.

 “Likewise. Although I have several more choice words for you, I think I will save them for a later date.” Ryan responded and smirked.

 “Stay smug buddy. We’re the ones saving your ass here.” Geoff would have crossed his arms if he wasn’t on crutches.

 “And how exactly? Do I need to explain in gross detail how what occurred was entirely your fault? I was ready to clean my mess and leave!” Ryan jabbed the button on his bed to lift him into a sitting position.

 “Oh I’m sorry, my bad! I should have just let the fucking murderous psychopath do as he please!” Geoff bellowed.

 “Oh fuck you; I’ve killed like two people. Directly.” Ryan clarified but thought to himself: ‘ _That you know of.’_

 “Right, just two people. I mean who doesn’t just kill a man or two?” Geoff’s voice cracked in irritation. He shook his head, “This isn’t why I came to talk to you!”

 Ryan huffed and bit down his witty retort in order to hear Geoff out.

 Geoff took a breath, “This whole situation is not good. No one knows how to deal with it, but it’s getting back under control, slowly.”

 “You can’t possibly want me to-” Ryan began.

 Geoff put his hand up and cut Ryan off, “NO!” He put his hand down, “No, that’s not – we don’t want that.”

 Ryan couldn’t stop himself from smirking.

 Geoff pointed at him angrily, “Don’t make me regret keeping you alive. Just shut up for like three seconds and let me talk!

 No one knows what to do with you, and no one is about build some stupidly complex facility for all of one person. You didn’t leave us with a lot of options. Even less of them were even remotely good. Let it be known I was a fan of the whole drugging you and leaving you on an uninhabited island in the pacific. But _apparently_ that is not humane. Neither is letting you become property of the military. They say they’d control you. I say that having you get yourself in charge of one of the largest armies in the world is less than ideal.

 The decision came down and it’s pissed a lot of people off, okay?”

 “Stop waxing poetic and spit it out.” Ryan just wanted to learn his fate, and this jackass was taking his sweet time with it.

 Geoff’s shoulders dropped, “You’re under house arrest. For an undetermined amount of time. You can’t make us tell you when, because none of us know. You can’t make us change it, because the system is locked. Shit’s all computerized and tightly secured. The Tower itself will literally not let you leave.”

 Ryan stared at him, mouth agape, “You can’t be serious. You’re locking me in _with_ you?”

 “Sounds dumb at first, but if any of us die for whatever reason, or you try _anything_ and you’re stuck in here forever. We can come and go as we please, but for you this home sweet home for who knows how long.” Geoff elaborated.

 “I’m calling bullshit-” Ryan argued.

 Geoff smiled, “Oh you’ll be able to question us all you want. See how bullshit it is then.”

 “This isn’t _legal!_ ” Ryan shouted.

 Geoff’s smile only widened and he gave Ryan a salute, “Welcome to the team, bitch.”


End file.
